One Piece : The Steve Story
by snakebit1995
Summary: Steve is the son of Shanks and Luffy's lifelong friend. Join him as he Co-Captains the straw hats from the beginning. contains my personal OC Steve and a few other OCs as well as characters from the main story with increased roles
1. Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold shows Attacks**

**NO POV**

It was a bright and sunny day. Just like any other. Two men sat in a boat drifting on the sea. One had black hair wore a straw hat, red shirt and blue jean shorts and the other was a tall boy with shaggy hair as red as a tomato wearing a blue, black and white flannel shirt opened to reveal a basic white tee-shirt along with a pair of loose blue jeans. These two boys one seventeen and the other eighteen sat in this boat ready to begin their journey as individuals who will accomplish their dreams. The younger of the duo is Monkey D. Luffy the older boy goes by Steve.

"It's nice out today." exclaimed Luffy as he looked to the horizon.

"Yeah it's a shame we ended up in this disaster." His friend responded. They both preceded to look at the whirlpool that their tiny boat was being swallowed by.

"There's no one else around it be bad if the boat wrecked. "

"Yes Luffy that would be bad especially since you CANT SWIM! You're always getting us into trouble because you never think things through. I told you we should've found a navigator soon so that this wouldn't happen."

"It's not that bad if the boat sinks you can carry me in the water." Luffy remarked not noticing that Steve was already pulling the lid off a barrel in their boat.

"I can't carry you and swim in a whirlpool at the same time, now get in the barrel, we just have to hope this thing doesn't sink with the two of us in it."

"Wont that be kind of cramped I mean you're a pretty tall guy."

"And your short so that'll make it even." Steve deadpanned "Alright lets go Luffy the boats already falling apart."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"Hey Luffy get up it feels like the barrel stopped rocking. I think we got picked up by a boat."

"SNORE!"

"Dammit Luffy GET UP!" I kicked as hard as I could inside the cramped barrel in an attempt to wake my rubber friend, but Luffy remained in dream land.

"Come on get up I can hear people talking and if we get caught we're gonna be in a bad spot." I was starting to get frustrated with my best friend when suddenly Luffy stirred from his sleep and began doing a wake up stretch

"No you idiot you gonna break the barrel!" Luffy proceeded to burst from the barrel and yelled out "I SLEPT GREAT!" with that I stepped out of the barrel and took stock of the surroundings.

_I was right, at least where got on another boat_ "We made it out I was worried we were gonna die there for a minute."

As I continued to look around I saw three grown men and a younger boy all looking fairly shocked "Oh hello" I casually remarked.

Suddenly The three older men became irate and began yelling at Luffy and I and asking what we were doing here and why where we in the barrel. Luffy leaned over and whispered to me "What's their problem?"

"Don't know it's probably because you almost gave them a heart attack when you woke up."

Then suddenly the wall exploded and Luffy and I got launched of the ship _What the hell just happened. I hope we don't end up in the water again._

* * *

Suddenly that boy from before appeared looking worried "Are you two ok you got sent flying pretty far"

"Haha we fine just surprised is all" Luffy answered for the two of us " I'm Luffy and this is Steve. Where are we?" I was actually surprised Luffy didn't begin by just asking for food he actually was trying find where he was, usually he just lets his stomach think for him.

The Boy than introduced himself as Coby and told us he was the caretaker of the ship of the pirate "Iron Club" Alvida. Luffy then proceeded to destroy all of the good will we had obtained up to that point by immediately asking for a new boat. I mean come on we just meant this kid and Luffy is already asking for favors. "Dammit Luffy be polite it's rude to just ask for something." "No it's ok I actually have a boat." Coby then proceeded to show what looked to be a just a pile of sticks and nails.

"I've spent the last two years building this boat in secret" _Damn Two years. Sorry kid, but this boat is kind of pathetic._ I looked over and saw that Luffy was probably thinking in an similar vein.

"Why do you even have this thing" I asked.

"Well I was planning to run away in this someday soon but I just don't have the guts to do it" Coby told us. _Wow this kid really needs to take some self-esteem classes._

Luffy then told Coby that he should just leave anyway. I was a little stunned but then again this is something Luffy would do. He was always good at making friends and ignoring the struggles that stood in his way. But Coby clammed up again and started making excuses like feeling sick or other garbage answers.

"Coby why are you even in this crew in the first place clearly you don't wanna be here why don't you just ask Alvida if you can leave." I asked him. _If a crew member wants to leave their ship all they need to do is ask the captain and have a good reason , I would let any crew member leave my crew if I felt that they had a fair reason to._

"I don't have a choice" Coby said "I went to go out to fish one day but got on that pirate ship be mistake."

" WOW your dumb!" Luffy blurted out and didn't even seem to realize that he just flat out insulted this kid, talk about being dense I just hope he shuts up and doesn't embarrass this kid anymore. "And your kinda wimpy to." Yep great job. "Luffy stop being so rude to the poor kid" "Oh ok sorry Steve I'll try to be nicer" I was angry at Luffy but also proud for some odd reason. Luffy and I have an odd relationship he has always been the do-er and I was always the thinker, I try to keep my friend in line but I usually end up following his lead anyway.

"Hey Steve, Luffy why are you two sailing" Coby asked us. Luffy and I looked at each other, smiled and said "We want to be the Kings of the Pirates."

Coby looked stunned "You mean that you're looking for the One Piece, the greatest treasure, everything the world has to offer." Coby then took a breath and yelled "DO YOU TWO WANT TO DIE!"

Coby was acting crazy at this point "There's no chance it's impossible you'll die ,to become the Pirate King in this era it'll never happen..."

Before Coby could even finish his sentence Luffy had clocked him but I wasn't upset or very surprised. "Why'd you hit me" Coby asked.

"Because you pissed me off" Luffy said. "You shouldn't insult people's dreams" I told him.

"But aren't you afraid you'll die" Coby asked.

"No" "Nope" Luffy and I responded respectively. "It's our dream so what's to be afraid of" Luffy answered

"If you truly believe in something not even death should stand in your way" I told Coby as he began to get up off the ground. I could see by the look on his face that he was it a state of shock, but I wasn't sure if it was from what Luffy and I just told him or the punch to the face he took.

"Do you think I can accomplish my dream to?" Coby asked us "Can I become a marine"

Oh _Marine_ now there was a word I wasn't too fond of. "I know it would make us enemies but still do you think in can accomplish it?" Why was this kid caring if he would become my and Luffy's enemy, was he already considering us his friends?

"I don't know" Luffy told him "I'm not sure I suppose you could." I gave him the most reassuring answer I could, I was worried that if I said something wrong the poor kid would just become a puddle of tears.

"Well I have to at least try I would rather die trying to escape and become a marine than spend the rest of my life serving Alvida, then I can come back an arrest her"

"Just who do you think you'll be arresting COBY!" suddenly huge women appeared and took a swing at Coby with a humongous spiked club.

Luckily she missed and crushed that pitiful excuse for a boat. I looked around and noticed her entire crew was here.

"Who is this rude women Coby?" Luffy asked, "I believe that is probably the Alvida that Coby spoke of. Your right she is very rude also I'm not entirely sure if she's a women." I answered with a smirk.

Her crew began hastily screaming that she wasn't ugly and that she was the most beautiful women on the seas but I disagreed even my half-pint twin sister was more attractive that this mountain of a person.

Then Coby shocked me when he said"They're all lying this women isn't beautiful she's nothing more than a monster" I was stunned was this the same kid I had meant a few hours ago he was so determined nothing like the coward form before. While I was stunned by Coby's actions Luffy was laughing away and that was all the notice I needed to tell that the two of us were in for a fight.

Alvida took a swing at Coby but luckily for him Luffy got there in time to block the blow, but he did it with his head. If there was a single scratch on dad's hat I would kill him myself.

Everyone was stunned that Luffy was unharmed. "That won't work because I'm rubber." Luffy told them and with that they began to back up stunned but not before he began to use his signature move "**Gum-Gum pistol!**" Luffy yelled and suddenly Alvida was launched in my direction I quickly unholstered the two batons strapped to my sides pushed the buttons and whips emerged from them. I cracked my whips so that the wrapped around Alvida and I took a big swing and let her fly "**Whip Twister!**" I shouted and Alvida landed on the ground with a viscous thud. My whips retracted back into the holders with a snap and a put them back in my belt Luffy stared down the rest of Alvida crew and spoke" Get a boat ready for Coby he wants to go become a marine" the stunned crew obliged us and we got on our way.

* * *

We had been sailing for an hour or so when Coby finally asked the question I wasn't surprised was on his mind "So you ate a devil fruit, I wasn't even sure they really existed."

"Yep I ate the Gum-Gum fruit and became a rubber man."Luffy told Coby as I pulled his cheeks to help drive home the point.

" And Steve what where those things you used?" I assumed he was referring to my whips so I answered accordingly "These are my weapons of choice duo whips. I received them as gifts from Mom and Dad before the left me and my sister for the Grand Line."

"Oh the Grand Line is that where you two are headed" Coby asked us "they call it the pirate graveyard it's really dangerous."

"Yeah that's why well need a strong crew." I responded.

"So exactly what are your two positions on the crew?" Coby asked us, Luffy and I both responded together "Captain"

"Huh?" Coby said looking confused "How can a ship have two captains?"

I answered in the simplest way I could "Luffy and I make decisions together , usually I just let Luffy do all the simpler thinking like where we are going or who is gonna join our crew because that tends to lead to more fun and adventure." "Yep and then Steve does all the hard stuff I don't understand like equipment and strategy." It was actually pretty simple I did the hard stuff and all the easy decisions were left to Luffy. I have found that more often than not it's just easy to let Luffy have his way and go with the flow.

"So do you have anyone in mind to join your crew?"

"Actually we do an old bounty hunter acquaintance of my sister who is at the place you're going" I answered. Coby looked stunned, I had begun to get used to the look on his face "You mean Roronoa Zoro but I heard he's a demon who hunts pirates"

Luffy quickly defended the man saying "Well Rose said he was a good guy so it can't hurt to try." And with that our little rag-tag group began sailing towards the next island.

**Note: This is my first time posting anything like this online so any feedback is appreciated.**

**Just a quick bio on Steve**

**First Name: Steve**

**Last Name: Unknown**

**Age: 18**

**Height: I don't know the actually height of the crew but Steve is somewhere between Franky and Robin. He's taller than Robin but Shorter than Franky**

**Appearance: Shaggy red hair(Think Accelerator's hair but red)**

**Skills: Whip Master, strength, agility, no Devil Fruit powers**

**Family**

**Father- Shanks (probably not a surprise I heavily alluded to it)**

**Mother- Lilly (just a random OC name)**

**Sister- Rose (Steve's older twin sister. Also another OC will become a major part of the story later)**

**Uncle- Mihawk( I decide to make Lilly Mihawk's little sister to add to the history between him and Shanks and the Relationship between Zoro and Rose that will later surface)**

**That's all for now I will update soon, once again this is my first story so any feedback is appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2 : Zoro

**Thank you for reading.  
**_Italics __indicate thinking_

**NO POV**

Luffy, Steve and Coby have arrived on the Marine Base Island with hopes of convincing the bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro to join their crew.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

After hours at sea we finally arrived on the small marine infested island. Luffy and I were just stunned to have made it where we wanted to go. Neither of us has any idea how to navigate so we Coby had to do most of that work. _I should make a note we need to get a navigator as soon as possible_. Coby kept complaining about how if neither of us had any navigational skills we wouldn't make very good pirates but I pretty much just toned him out after a while. We walked around for a little bit before my rubber pal said the inevitable "Let's go eat."

We decided to head to a small bar to grab something _how are we gonna pay for all this food_, _Luffy eats like a giant , and we don't have any money to even pay for scrapes_. I opted to put it out of my mind for the time being if anything we could just skip out on the bill like normal pirates. Towards the end of our meal Luffy asked if I thought Zoro was still at the Marine Base, which sent most of the bar into a panic

"Guess you can't just casually drop his name around here." Coby said while trying to calm down for the excitement. Coby than began talking about some guy named Morgan at the Base which just seemed to freak out the other patrons more than dropping Zoro's name did. "Come on let's get going." I told my two friends "We should go look for Zoro."

* * *

After we left the restaurant Luffy wouldn't stop laughing about how exciting that place was but it was the look on Coby's face that worried me more.

"What's wrong kid" I asked him, I already had a felling his was curious about the reactions of the other people in the bar when he had mentioned Morgan's name.

"I understand why they would be scared of Zoro but why did they have such a panic over the marines?" Coby asked looking at me with a sad look on his face.

"Well you see Coby..." I started before being rudely interrupted by Luffy who interjected with "Maybe he's a bad guy." _Wow thanks captain obvious. _

It didn't take much for me to understand that maybe this Morgan guy wasn't on the straight and narrow like the marines in Coby's fantasies. "Not all people are as black and white as we would like them to be Coby, there are bad marines and good pirates the world has a lot of grey areas in it." I told him.

I felt bad crushing the kids dreams like this but it was bound to happen. He needs to understand the world isn't all fairy tales, I thought he would have learned that working on Alvida's ship for all that time.

"But that impossible!" Coby yelled.

"He's serious." Luffy told him "The worlds a rough place Coby, there are no rules people forge their own paths." After that we walked in silence alone with our thoughts.

* * *

When we finally arrived at the Marine Base we were met with a large metal gate. I figured it was time for Luffy and I to part ways with Coby so he could go follow his dream but once again he kept making lame excuses about not being mentally prepared yet. _Whatever kid can go when he's ready_. I watched as Luffy climbed up onto the wall to look into the court yard and I soon followed suit.

That's when I saw him. A man tied to a mock cross. He was tall, probably just shy of my height if he was standing up straight. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants with a green sash around his waist. He had on a black bandana and had three earrings in one ear "That's him alright. Zoro."

"Looks like those ropes will come off pretty easy." Luffy stated "Yeah shouldn't take too long." I said getting ready to hop over the wall. Coby's started screaming about how if we released Zoro he might kill us and destroy the town.

Then Zoro looked up and spotted us staring at him and spoke "One of you wanna come over here and untie me I've been tied up for a while now, nine days or so."

_This guy's already asking for favors and he doesn't even know our names _

"I can repay you if you want I always keep my word."_ Now he's bargaining I didn't even say no_.

"Don't do it he's lying he'll kill you if you set him free." Coby said starting to panic again.

"No he won't." Luffy told him "He can't kill us because we're strong, well me and Steve are I'm not too sure about you Coby." "Wow way to be nice to the kid Luffy."

Then I looked over and saw there was a little girl at the wall with a ladder "SHH" she whispered and began climbing over the wall. _What's this kid doing she's asking to get shot._

"Go help her you two." Coby spoke trying to order us around.

"Nah you do it." Luffy told him. "Luffy's right you wanna be a marine hero right well go save the person in distress then." I added_. _

The girl walked up to Zoro who began telling her to get lost and leave him alone. I couldn't really tell what was going on but it looked as if she was trying to give him something. Zoro began yelling at the girl.

"Get Lost or I'll kill you!" he screamed, "Wow that escalated quickly." I remarked.

The gate at the side of the courtyard opened up and a peculiar looking blond man stepped into the yard.

"What a weirdo." Luffy said, and I couldn't help but agree the man was pretty strange.

"Oh good a marine now the girl will be ok." Coby said letting out a sigh of relief.

Said stranger spoke to Zoro before he walked up to the girl and took whatever it was she was attempting to give Zoro. He then proceeded to shove it in his mouth which made me realize that it was some sort of food that she was trying to give Zoro. Suddenly the weirdo began gagging and then stomped on the rest of what I now saw were rice balls. He then pointed out a sign that read "Any person who helps criminals will be punished the same". He proceeded to order one of the marines accompanying him to throw out the poor little girl. By the time I realized what was happening the girl was flying through the air.

"Luffy!" I ordered and he quickly grabbed the girl before she could suffer any damage.

When I looked back over the wall I saw the marines had left "Come on Luffy let's go talk to this guy." I told him "Coming!" Luffy yelled"Coby you check on the little girl okay."

Luffy and I walked up to Zoro and he spoke "What are you doing? Why haven't you left?"

"Because we're looking for people to join our pirate crew." Luffy said.

"So you just gave up on life and became a pirate." Zoro spoke throwing out and insult.

"There's nothing wrong with being a pirate, and we only asked you because you came with you got a recommendation from my sister." I told him.

"Who's your sister and why the hell would she tell you that I would be a pirate?" Zoro asked.

"Rose" "Oh _HER, _so what I don't listen to her. Don't tell me your just gonna set me free and force we to join you just because your sister said I was a nice guy." Zoro said.

_ I can't believe Rose said he was a good guy all he's done so far I hurl insults, she probably only sent me here to free some guy she has a crush on_. "We haven't decide yet I don't care you seem like a good guy" Luffy told him "But Steve still seems undecided so well wait on it." And with that we started to walk away.

"Luffy you now it doesn't matter what I think both of us are allowed to ask people to join the crew." I told him

"I know but since everyone seems to think he's a bad guy let's just wait it out for a little bit." He answered.

"It doesn't matter." Zoro yelled "I will never join you because I have something I need to do, a dream to fulfill." Zoro had a look of determination on his face , there was part of the story he wasn't telling.

"Come on lets go Luffy." I hollered.

"Wait can you pick that up for me?" Zoro asked gesturing to the smashed rice on the ground

"You wanna eat that? It's all muddy" Luffy said picking up the rice

"Well I guess you can't be too picky when your starving" he said shoving the mixture of rice and dirt into Zoro's mouth. Zoro ate it like he hadn't seen food in ages and then said "Tell the little girl it was very good, Thank you" and with that Luffy and I exited the base.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you to everyone who is reading more soon.**


	3. Chapter 3: Battle at the Base

**Thanks for reading**

_Italics indicate thinking_

_**Attacks are in BOLD**_

**NO POV**

Steve, Luffy and Coby have just left the marine base after meeting with Roronoa Zoro and man being held prisoner by the marines.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

The Little girl who had introduced herself as Rika was ecstatic when Luffy told her that Zoro had eaten the entire rice ball. Something was still bothering me though

"Why was Zoro tied up, what did he do to warrant a punishment like that?" I asked.

"He didn't do anything wrong" Rika said "He got arrested because he killed Helmeppo's wolf." _I take it Helmeppo is the weirdo from earlier_ "And he only killed it because it was running wild and terrorizing the town."

"Maybe Zoro's not such a bad guy after all." Coby mused.

"The real bad guys are the Morgans who run this town, if you disobey them you get executed, so everyone is scared."

Then I heard a familiar voice form earlier, it was the weirdo Helmeppo harassing townspeople, I knew he was in trouble when I heard him say "I'm gonna execute Zoro in three days."

I could tell be the look on Luffy's face that he was confused "Don't do anything stupid Luffy" I told him but he ignored me and walked up to Helmeppo.

"But didn't you say you would give him a month." "EHH, oh that I lied" Helmeppo said nonchalantly "Hehe he actually bought that lame story HA!" he said starting to laugh.

BAM!

With that Luffy clocked Helmeppo right in the jaw.

"Luffy calm down, I've decided Zoro's joining our crew." I said with a smile.

"Good" Luffy answered Helmeppo began yelling about how his dad was gonna get us and we should be afraid.

"Why don't you just fight us yourself" I said "Tossing your dads name around gets you nowhere in life, you have to do things for yourself." I told him.

_I know that from experience_.

Luffy kept trying to break out of my grip and attack Helmeppo but I held him back "Don't waste your strength it's not worth it." I instructed.

After that Rika's mom came to scold her for hanging around dangerous strangers and I couldn't blame her pirates aren't really kid friendly, "Let's get moving we better hurry he'll kill Zoro if we don't get there soon." I said and we made our way to the Marine Base.

* * *

"What are you two doing here again I already told you no" Zoro stated angrily "I'm not going to become some bad guy just cause you ask."

Luffy was quick to provide a simple answer "But everyone already thinks you're a bad guy anyway so what does it matter."

"Doesn't matter I've never regretted any of my choices and I won't start now. I won't become a pirate."

"Don't care your joining." Luffy told him. _Idiot you can't just force people to join you learn to take no for an answer._

"Luffy, Zoro has to make his own decisions you can't force the guy to join you," I told him. "I hear you use a Katana where is it?"

"That damn kid took it, that katana is the thing I treasure the most almost as much as my life."

"WOW treasure!" Luffy exclaimed "Well if it's so important to you we'll get it back but" _what? _"I'll only give it back if you join us." Luffy offered.

_See Luffy that's how you bargain_. "That's ridiculous" Zoro yelled but Luffy and I were already off and running towards the main base.

* * *

"Luffy we don't even know where to start looking for the katana how are we supposed to get it back if we can't even find it." I asked trying to expedite the situation.

Luffy looked like he was thinking about something _probably just food _ "There's people on the top let's just go ask them." he said. _Holy Crap a logical thought. _

And with that Luffy grabbed me and slung his hand toward the top of the base. By this point in my life and had been flung so many places by Luffy that it doesn't even phase me anymore. As we were flying towards the roof I noticed that there was a large statue that appeared to be in the process of being stood up _probably just some marine hero memorial_.

"UHH Steve I think I over shot it" Luffy yelled

"Well grab something so we don't crash."

Luffy threw his hand the one place he probably shouldn't right at the ropes being used to stand up the statue. We landed safely but in the process the statue snapped in two and pretty much everybody freaked out, even I was a little shocked "Umm Sorry" Luffy stated like that was gonna just make it go away.

A man with an axe for a hand a metal jaw began screaming for the marines to capture us and that he was going to kill us himself. I noticed that Helmeppo was on the roof as well telling the man with the axe hand that Luffy had punched him I took it to mean that the axe man must be the Morgan all the townspeople were afraid of. Luffy began getting ready to fight but I stopped him saying "Luffy not now we need to get Zoro's sword so we can release him it would be better to fight with larger numbers"

"Fine" Luffy said "I've been looking for you." Luffy said grabbing Helmeppo and running up and following me into the building. Marines were already following us through the building

"Where's the Katana" I yelled interrogating Helmeppo as we ran through the halls.

"I'll tell you just make you friend stop dragging me please!" Helmeppo cried.

"WHERE!" Luffy asked

"There in my room you just past it" Helmeppo said looking bloody and covered in tears

"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Luffy asked.

"Put your hands above your head" a small group of marine told us.

I responded with a quick "No" than grabbed Helmeppo to use as a human shield to avoid being shot. I could of just used Luffy since bullets don't hurt him any way but I decided this way was more fun. The marines all reprimanded me for using a human shield but I just ignored them and backed into Helmeppo's room to look for the Zoro's sword.

"Hey there are three here which ones Zoro's" Luffy asked but the only one who could answer was out cold by this point.

"Doesn't matter grab them all so we can get going, one of them has to be right so who cares if we take extras" I instructed my friend.

"Steve look" Luffy yelled "Coby's in trouble." I looked out into the courtyard and saw that Morgan and his Marines had surrounded Coby and the tied up Zoro

"We better hurry then they look like they need help." "Quick grab on" he told me "**Gum-Gum Rocket!**" he yelled as we were catapulted out the window and into the yard below. I quickly ducked behind Luffy to avoid the impending gun fire heading my way.

* * *

I couldn't help but laugh at the faces of the marines when Luffy bounced their bullets back at them. "That won't work" he told them.

"What the hell are you?" Zoro asked.

I quickly brought the katana we had found upstairs to Zoro "Which one is yours?" I asked him.

"All three are" he stated "I use three sword style."

W_ow three swords that's pretty cool._

"If you resist the navy here you'll be labeled a criminal but if you don't let me free you you'll die on that cross, so what's it gonna be" I said offering Zoro only one true way out.

"You know you and your sister must really be the spawn of that devil. Forget it I'm in I rather be a pirate than die here." Luffy and I both gave a big smile

"YEAH our first crew member!" Luffy yelled, I could tell he was really excited to be making a new friend.

"No quickly get these ropes off." Zoro pleaded.

Luffy and I began to try and untangle the ropes be we were having a bit off a struggle. _It's always been so easy to untangle my whips why am I struggling in an important moment_. I looked up and saw that the marines had forgone their guns in favor of swords, which would be a problem since Luffy is bullet proof not sword proof.

"HURRY UP!" Zoro screamed.

"Boy these ropes sure are tight." Luffy said. I looked over again and realized we needed to hurry the marines we almost within striking distance.

"Ahh I got my side off." Luffy said and it was immediately that Zoro interrupted with "Quick give me a sword."

By this point I was reaching for the whips on my side in order to defend us form the incoming marines but as quickly and I moved Zoro had made it in front and was blocking each sword. I took a quick second to analyze his stance and saw that he had one katana in each had and the one with the white colored hilt was in his mouth _That can't be sanitary_.

"Nobody move or I'll kill you" Zoro said laying out his demands.

"I agreed to be a pirate with you to but understand something," Zoro said suddenly becoming incredibly serious "My goal is to be the world's greatest swordsman, either of you do anything to get in the way of that… I'll kill you as retribution."

"Sure" I said, I could tell he was serious I didn't want to get on his bad side. "Good the world's best swordsmen should be in the crew of the Pirate King." Luffy said

"Ehhem kings." I corrected

"Oh yeah right Pirate Kings." Luffy repeated.

Morgan began getting irate and telling the marines to finish us off before he did it himself.

I decided it was time for us to fight back "Zoro duck." I instructed. Getting my whips ready, he quickly lowered himself a few inches and I began to swing **"Whip Lash!" **I screamed and took out about a dozen soldiers with one sweep. Luffy cleaned up the other few remaining men with his stretched out legs.

"What are you?" Zoro asked Luffy "I'm rubber" he answered causally with a smirk. The marines began to panic saying they can't defeat three monsters like us.

Well that sent Morgan over the edge he started ordering men to kill themselves and they were following such an outlandish order.

"What the Hell are they doing" Zoro said looking stunned at the marines who were going to complete the order.

"Gotta admire the commitment they have I guess" I joked.

Luffy charged at Morgan and began to battle him. Luffy dodged attacks but wasn't actively striking the axe handed captain who was on a rampage cleaving everything in his path. Luffy finally went on the offensive and began to attack with a series of **Gum-Gum pistols** and **Stamps**. The marines we stunned and Morgan was in a violent rage. He took a Large overhead chop at Luffy who did one of the coolest evasions I had ever see and spun to the side midair to avoid the axe blade and kick the marine Officer in the face.

Luffy had Morgan on the ground and was about to deliver the finishing blow when Helmeppo reappeared and began using Coby as a hostage _I should have been paying attention he shouldn't have gotten this close_. Coby than told us not to worry about him that he would be ok. I could tell Luffy wasn't particularly worried about the boy and neither was I. I began to put a simple plan into action. Luffy was already cocking back for a **Gum-Gum Pistol** when I saw Morgan stand up from behind him I quickly got my whips out and Zoro got in his swords ready to strike Morgan.

I pulled back for a big swing and Zoro dashed forward, neither the father or the son saw the attacks coming.

"**Whip Crush!" **I said slamming my whips into Helmeppo's face in conjunction with Luffy's **Pistol **while at the same time Zoro sliced Morgan

"Good job." I said to my two partners

"No problem just following your lead Captain." Zoro said. With that we walked away from the base leaving a group of stunned marines in our wake.

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. This is my first story so feedback is appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4: A New Adveture Awaits

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Attacks are in bold**

**NO POV**

Steve and Luffy have just defeated Marine Captain Morgan and rescued the bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro. Having convinced Zoro to join their crew they begin to make preparations to leave the island.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We started to walk away from a group of cheering marines when suddenly Zoro collapsed. I had a feeling that he was just tired from having just participated in a major fight despite not eating in over a week. Luffy and Coby were freaking out about the passed out man on the ground.

"Let's get him to someplace he can rest." I said.

* * *

"I'm full. That was great." Zoro said patting his stomach to illustrate the point.

"You barley lasted nine day how did you expect to make it a whole month without food?" I asked.

"I don't know if I could even make it a day." Luffy added on.

Coby was worried about not being able to afford the meal but Rika's mom said the meal was no charge since we had saved the town.

"So what exactly are your plans." Zoro asked.

"We're going to the Grande Line!"Luffy exclaimed.

"No were not you moron!" I yelled.

"Why if we're going after the One Piece we need to head there eventually." Zoro responded acting calm.

"We can't go to the Grande Line with just three people. Especially when none of us have any navigational skills." I answered.

"He's right you know." Coby said agreeing with me.

"Why would you care it's not like you're coming with us." Zoro said.

Coby than shocked us all saying "I know but it I can still worry you are my friends after all. I never had friends before. Growing up I was always picked on and no one ever stood up for me. "

I wasn't too surprised the boy had clearly become attached to Luffy and I.

"Don't worry Coby," Luffy said "we'll always be friends."

"Yeah Luffy is right Coby even if you don't see each other for a long time you can still be friends." I added. At that Coby smiled but I was quickly that Zoro took that look away.

"You have bigger things to worry about than us kid. You need to worry about yourself." Zoro started "Even though you were just a chore boy on a pirate ship you were still a pirate, if the marines find out about your past they'll never let you join."

I could see the devastation on Coby's face._ Poor kid I didn't even think about that._ Just then the door burst open and the marines from the base appeared in front of us. One marine who I assumed had become the new leader addressed us.

"Is it true that your pirates."

"Yes and we just got our first crew member." Luffy answered.

"I see" the man started "if that's the case although we are grateful to you for saving our town since you are pirates and we are marines we must ask you to leave."

The town's people weren't happy with the marines for forcing their saviors out of town. "Well let's go then." I instructed. Luffy, Zoro, and I got up to leave when I heard the marine start questioning if Coby was with us.

"I'm not with them." Coby answered.

_Smart just pretend you've never seen us before today_.

"Actually I know what this guy used to do," Luffy interrupted "he used to be with this fat pirate Alvida or something."

_What are you doing you idiot Shut Up!_

"This kid spent two years…" Luffy didn't get any further into his speech before Coby punched him right in the face.

_Where did this courage come from._

"You deserve a beating!" Luffy yelled and then punched Coby back.

_Oh now I see what you're doing._

Luffy then started to lay down a beating on his much smaller opponent. I decided Coby had had enough and went to get Luffy "That's enough, back off you made your point." I said very seriously.

"I get it he's not your friend so please just leave." the marine instructed.

* * *

We started to make our way toward the docks so we could get out of town. All along the way Zoro harassed some marines on patrol.

"That was a good show you put on there." Zoro remarked.

"I think Coby will become strong one day." Luffy said with a smile

"Let's get going before we get roped into something else." I said climbing into our boat.

We began getting the boat ready to sail when I noticed that Coby was at the street behind us calling out our names.

"Thank you!" Coby yelled "I'll never forget what you've done for me!"

"Never seen a marine salute a pirate before." Zoro laughed.

"We'll meet again someday Coby" Luffy said waving.

We pushed the boat off the dock and headed off toward our next adventure when I notice that all the marines from the base were saluting us with Coby. I watched as they faded out into the horizon.

* * *

It wasn't long after we left the island that Luffy began to complain about being hungry.

"You just ate suck it up." I told him.

"So where are we headed next?" Zoro asked.

"Don't know wherever." Luffy responded.

"So neither of you have any navigational skills you just wander" Zoro said looking confused.

"Yes, this is why we need to recruit a navigator a soon as possible." I told them getting serious "Without a navigator well be doomed and never make it where we need to go."

"We also need a cook and a musician." Luffy added.

"Let's stay focused on one thing at a time Luffy. A navigator has to come first if we ever want to get to the Grade Line."

"I don't care where we end up as long as we find the man I'm looking for" Zoro said.

* * *

"UGGH I'm hungry" both Luffy and Zoro complained.

_Again am I putting together a crew of competitive eater or pirates?_

I looked up and saw a bird and got an idea "Look you two a bird. Luffy you think you can catch it."

"I'll get it just watch" he shouted before catapulting off the mast and into the sky.

But for some reason Luffy was taking an awful long time getting down.

"HELP! I'M STUCK!" he screamed.

"YOU IDIOT!" I yelled at him as the bird flew away with Luffy in its beak.

"Row faster Zoro we have to catch up to that bird. If it drops him in the water he'll die for sure."

Zoro and I began rowing as fast as we could to try and get to Luffy but the bird was just too fast. While attempting to reach Luffy we came across three men treading water in the ocean and asking us for help.

"We don't have time to stop you'll have to try and get on your own" Zoro told them. The three men barley managed to cling to the boat due to the speed we were paddling at.

The three new arrivals in the boat were very rude. They attempted to hold us up and steal our boat saying we were in the territory of a pirate by the name of Captain Buggy.

_Why does that name sound so familiar? It sounds like a character from a story Dad used to tell._

After Zoro and I dealt with our new friends and I used my whip to "convince" them to row for us as we began heading for the nearest island.

"Speed it up you three. Because of you we lost track of our friend. Now row faster unless you want me to whip you again." I threated.

"Yes Sir." they all said together and began rowing with renewed vigor.

Zoro asked the men why they were drifting like that when we found them and they said that they were tricked by a girl and she stole their ship and the treasure they had just obtained.

_Sounds like someone we need to keep an eye out for. _

They insisted that the girl was capable of predicting the weather to which Zoro started saying that maybe she should be our navigator.

"Don't know we may never even meet this girl" I responded. _I won't deny it though having someone who can predict the weather would be a useful addition. _

The three new pirates kept going off about this girl and how they were going to turn here over to this Captain Buggy.

"Who is this Buggy?" I asked.

"He's a great pirate who ate one of the devil fruits. Haven't you ever heard of Buggy the clown?" the one wearing a hat asked.

_Why can't I shake the fact that I know that name from somewhere?_

* * *

It wasn't much longer before we arrived at the nearest island where this mysterious Buggy was.

"Let's go Zoro we have to find Luffy before he gets himself into trouble." I said starting to layout our goal.

"You worry about him a lot don't you?" Zoro asked me

"Well when you've spent as much time with him as I have you know what he's capable of. I just don't want him to do something that ends up biting us in the ass down the line." I answered.

And with that Zoro and I entered the town in to begin our search for Luffy.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading any feedback is appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5: The Buggy Pirates

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

**NO POV**

Steve and Zoro have just arrived on a new island in search of Luffy, who was taken away by a bird he was attempting to catch. While the two begin their search Steve continues to ponder the name of a local pirate Captain Buggy

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"I think we should split up" Zoro said "we could cover more ground that way."

"Absolutely not" I answered "there are too many pirates infesting this place we'd be easy targets if we split up."Zoro gave me a disapproving look "Listen it's not that I don't think you're capable of defending yourself. It's just that this Captain Buggy sound really familiar. I don't want to get caught out alone. Besides we know this guy has devil fruit powers what if he has abilities that make him impossible to fight" Zoro hummed and gave an understanding nod and we kept walking.

"So exactly how did you meet my sister and what kind of relationship do you two have?" I asked Zoro giving him a questioning look.

Zoro visibly stiffed at the mention of my sister and struggled to answer "We both went after the same bounty one time and worked together for a few weeks. Then she disappeared and I haven't seen her since. It was the weirdest thing I turned around and she was just gone. I was glad to hear she wasn't dead though."

I raised my eyebrow and asked "So it was just a working relationship?" once again Zoro got a look of discomfort on his face and replied "Y-yes."

"Good big sis shouldn't hang around with men like you."

"What the Hell! You saying I'm some kind of creep?"

"No nothing of the sort. But let's get back to the task at hand we need to find Luffy." I said.

"Any ideas where we should look" Zoro asked. Suddenly there was a huge explosion on the other side of town. I pointed to a large tent on the roof of a nearby bar were the explosion originated from and said "How about there."

* * *

It didn't take us long to make our way to the roof but what we saw wasn't a very reassuring site. Luffy was tied up and locked inside a large iron cage that had a cannon pointed at it.

_THAT IDIOT!_

There was an orange haired girl standing next to the fuse with a matchbook in her hand but it didn't look like she had any intention of lighting the cannon. Guess the other pirates got sick of waiting because a man walked up to the girl and took the matches and light one. Don't know why but this pissed her off big time and she pulled out a large stick-like weapon and struck the man.

The girl made a valiant effort but somehow the fuse got lit anyway. "We need to hurry." Zoro said

"No Duh," I responded "He's gonna get himself killed."

We made a break for Luffy's cage "You deal with the Pirates I'll try and free Luffy." I said barking out orders.

"We're not gonna make it the fuse is too low." Zoro pointed out.

Just then the girl turned around and grabbed the fuse in order to snuff out the flame. She cried out in agony but held steady until it went out

_Just who is the chick, and why is she helping Luffy? _

There was still the problem of the pirates charging at the girl. Zoro quickly moved into position and blocked their attack and proceeded to taunt them for ganging up on one lone girl.

I ran up to Luffy's cage and began fiddling with the lock in an attempt to free Luffy.

"Get me outta this thing." Luffy begged.

"What does it look like I'm doing idiot. You know you got caught by a bird and now by pirates. You need to get it together Luffy." I said scolding my friend.

"I'm just glad you and Zoro found me." Luffy thanked.

Suddenly the opposing pirates were speaking in hushed whispers things like "Zoro?" and "Does he mean the Pirate Hunter?" I took it that they were quite surprised by mine and Luffy's crew-member.

"Dammit why won't this cage open." I mumbled to myself.

I looked up and saw the orange haired girl and said "Hey you, got any ideas about freeing my friend?" she looked at me but didn't answer.

I looked behind me and saw that Zoro was having an exchange with the enemy.

"Who's that?" I asked Luffy's new friend.

This time she responded "Buggy."

_So this is the Buggy I've been hearing so much about._

Luffy gasped and pointed out that Zoro was fighting Buggy. Zoro cut the man into pieces. Luffy and the girl were stunned, but the man's own crew looked calm.

_Why are they so calm when their captain just got cut down right in front of them? That was to easy… wait, He has devil fruit powers!_

Zoro began walking towards Luffy and I when I tried to warn him "LOOK OUT!"

But I was too late and Zoro got stabbed in the side. I looked closer and saw that Buggy's hand was floating in midair holding the knife that was in Zoro.

Every member of these "Buggy Pirates" was laughing hysterically as Zoro fell to the ground with a thud. Zoro stood a pulled the knife from his side and got ready to fight again.

"What the Hell was that!?" Zoro asked.

"I ate the Chop-Chop fruit. I can't be sliced because I'm a section man!" Buggy yelled as he reassembled his body.

His crew began to cheer for him to finish Zoro off. I saw the look on Zoro's face.

_He's ashamed that he got careless. _

I turned back to continue trying to free Luffy so we would have a fighting chance against this guy.

That was when I felt like there was a pair of eyes boring through the back of my head.

"You with the red hair," said a voice I recognized as Buggy's "Turn around."

I looked over my shoulder and saw the questioning look on Buggy's face. He looked to be mumbling something when he suddenly spoke "Nah. Couldn't be."

But before he was able to say what was on his mind Luffy interrupted and began screaming about how stabbing Zoro in the back was dirty. When Luffy called him big nose it really ticked Buggy off. I could tell by the look on his crews' faces that his nose was a touchy subject.

Zoro and the girl began screaming that a knife was headed right for me. So I quickly rolled to the side to dodge it but then I realized I had been right in front of the cage Luffy was being held in.

"Luffy!" I yelled when I saw the knife enter the cage.

I cringed assuming that Luffy had been mutilated, but somehow he managed to catch the blade in his teeth. Then he looked up at Buggy shocked me and said "I'm taking you down."

I only groaned at Luffy's threat.

_See this is why I wanted to find him quickly so he would get us into a situation like this._

Of course Buggy and his crew didn't take Luffy very seriously at all they just laughed his statement off. "Steve, Zoro run away." Luffy instructed.

"Your friends came to save you why are you telling them to leave?" the girl asked. "Alright." we both answered.

_ I see what you doing._

Zoro and I made a break for it. Buggy launched his hands at us. Zoro blocked them with his swords giving me an opening to get to the cannon.

God that thing was heavy but I managed to flip it despite the struggle. Upon realizing what we were doing Buggy's crew freaked out.

_Guess they figured out this things still loaded._

I heard Zoro yell at the girl to light the cannon and she complied. The entire crew was blown away by the cannon as we prepared to make our escape.

"Now's our chance, let's go" I demanded.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed "exactly who are you?" he said addressing the girl who had helped us.

"I'm a thief." she said to which Luffy added "This girl is our navigator."

"You actually managed to recruit a navigator. Good job Luffy." I said.

_ I just hope she knows what she's doing. And the kind of people she's gotten herself tied up with._

"I told you I won't be your navigator. If you have time to say useless things like that you have time to find your way out of that cage." She said rather angrily.

"No it's fine stay in the cage." Zoro said.

At that Zoro walked up to the cage and picked it up.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING" I yelled.

"Stop Zoro your gonna bleed out if you do that." Luffy added.

"Both of you shut up I'm doing this my way."

_Is he trying to make up for the fact that he lost that fight to Buggy? _

I opened my mouth to scold him and offer him a hand but he interrupted the second he saw my mouth open "DON'T butt in or say anything I can do this myself" he said. After that I kept my mouth shut.

* * *

We moved as quickly as you can when you have an injured man trying to carry an iron and cement cage. We rested on a roof a ways from the bar that we had come from.

"What the hell were you doing? Are you trying to die!?" I yelled at Zoro.

I was beyond angry. Who was he to order me around? It's my job to order him.

"We're in for a fight now. We need to finish what Luffy started." Zoro said ignoring my complaints. I decided to let our dispute go for now since we had more important tasks to focus on.

"Yep. You really got us in a mess this time Luffy." I said.

* * *

**AN**

**I opted to go with the English names for the Devil Fruits only because I find it fits an English story better. I've seen the show in both Japanese and English so I'm familiar with both names so hopefully my choice doesn't upset anyone**

**Thank You for reading. As always I'm grateful for any feedback.**


	6. Chapter 6: Cats and Dogs

_Italics Indicate Thinking_

**Bold is For Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

Steve and Zoro have just rescued Luffy from The Buggy Pirates. Luffy having vowed to defeat Buggy has placed his allies in a dangerous position.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We had been walking for a while when we finally got far enough to feel safe.

"This is it I can't go any farther" Zoro groaned as gave up dragging Luffy's prison.

I decided to take a break as well and took a seat atop the cage holding Luffy.

"Please don't sit on my head." Luffy begged

"To bad this is what you get for getting stuck in this thing in the first place."

"Oh look a doggie."

I looked down and saw there was a small cream colored dog sitting in front of Luffy's cage.

"Will you stay focused Luffy, we need to find a way to get you out of this cage. You can play with the dog later."

But Luffy disregarded me and kept poking at the dog which only made the thing angry, so angry that it bit him.

"Ahh it bit me!" screamed Luffy.

"What did you expect you were poking it in the face? Will you get serious for a minute." I said scolding my friend.

I looked around to see the state of my team. Zoro was barely conscious, Luffy was tired from his scrap with the dog and I was mentally drained from trying to find a way to free Luffy and figure out why Buggy was so curious about me. I had given up I decided to rest and think a way out of this mess later.

"What are you guys doing? If you sit in the middle of the road like that Buggy will find you for sure." I looked up and saw the orange haired girl from earlier.

"Oh it's our navigator" Luffy said noticing her presence.

She then got very defensive and said that she wasn't here to join us just repay a debt. She threw a key on the ground.

"What's that?" I asked "the key to your friend's cell. Consider us even." We all thanked the women for her generosity. I went to pick up the key so that I could free Luffy when disaster struck.

"YOU DAMN DOG!" "NO THE KEY!"

Sure enough the dog ate the key to Luffy's cage. Needless to say Luffy was not happy about being trapped in the cage any longer and took his frustrations out on the dog.

"Luffy don't hit the dog that's not nice."

"But he ate the key now I'm stuck in here." Luffy kept trying to choke the dog out in an attempt to get the key back when someone began yelling at him for abusing the poor animal.

"Hey you don't hurt ChouChou." said a man dressed in some form of crude wooden armor.

"Who are you mister?" Zoro asked the man. "I'm the Chief of this village, the Mayor, Boodle."

"On the topic of introductions I'm afraid I still don't know your name Miss" I said addressing the orange haired girl.

"I'm Nami." she replied.

"I hate to continue to bother you Mr. Mayor sir, but do you have a place I can put my friend so that me can rest." I pointed to the half-conscious Zoro who needed to have his wounds looked at.

"Oh dear he's in bad shape," The Mayor observed "bring him here he can stay at my house."

* * *

After carrying Zoro into The Mayor's house and getting him settled in bed I went back outside to converse with Boodle, Nami, and Luffy. I really needed some relief. I was glad that Zoro was asleep I was sick of fighting with the guy. First he carries the cage despite his injuries and then refuses to have them looked at properly and insist he'll just ""sleep it off."

"Why are you here anyway?" Luffy asked The Mayor.

"I came to feed Chou-Chou" he said walking up to the dog.

"Why do you come all the way out here to feed a dog why not just take him home with you?" I asked

"It's because he won't stop guarding the store."

"I'm afraid I don't understand" I said perplexed.

"Well you see this store is owed by a friend of mine as is Chou-Chou. He's guarding the store because it holds many precious memories. Just look at the scares and wounds on his body they show that he's been fighting the pirates to protect the store." The Mayor said giving a long winded answer.

"Why doesn't the owner just come protect the store himself why make his poor dog do it for him. If he's just at the shelter than he can come do it himself." Nami spoke.

_She's right who makes their dog defend something without helping themselves._

"No I'm afraid that the owner has already moved on to the world beyond this one." Boodle explained with a look of sorrow covering his face.

"So is the dog just trying to fulfill the last task he was given, to protect the store?" I asked.

"That's what a lot of the villagers say, but I see it a different way I think he knows his master won't be coming back but he guards the store because it's his treasure."

Suddenly an earsplitting roar shook the very air.

"What was that?!" Nami screamed.

"It's the Beast Tamer Mohji! We gotta get outta here." Boodle said running away with Nami.

I wasn't gonna leave Luffy behind so I tried pushing the cage so we could both get out of there.

"Just leave me, I'm slowing you down."

"NO! I won't leave my friend behind to save myself. No true friend would abandon someone they care about in a time of need." I yelled.

"It's my own fault I'm the one who got myself stuck just go so I don't hold you back. I don't want you to get hurt because you were trying to help me." Luffy fought back.

"I'm not leaving and that's final." He didn't say another word.

"Well look what I found" said a man riding a large lion "sucks to be you to get caught anyway even after all that running."

"What's with that weird hat?" Luffy insulted.

"This is my natural hair!" the man screamed back at him. The man stared rambling about being the great animal tamer Mohji and attempted to demonstrate his skills on Chou-Chou. "Now shake." BITE! "OWWWW!"

"Tell me where Zoro is" he commanded acting as if he hadn't just been mauled by Chou-Chou.

"I don't wanna." Luffy spoke acting like a child.

"KILL HIM RICHIE!" Mohji screamed.

In a stroke of pure luck the attack missed Luffy and shattered his iron prison, but Luffy still got sent flying across the town. Mohji then turned his attention towards me

"Come on Richie before you eat finish the job and take this guy down"

"You got Lucky fur-guy. If Luffy wasn't in that cage he would've kicked your ass."

"GAHH! What did you just say?! Richie tear him to pieces!"

I got ready for a fight as the lion charged right at me.

"I'll show you how to tame a beast." I taunted ,"**Whip Crack!"** I struck the lion directly in the side but the creature barely flinched.

"What the hell! How did it barely feel that? I've swung hard enough to shatter stone!"

_Thinking back why didn't I just crush the cage so I could free Luffy. Wow I'm dumb._

"You'll find that Richie is a very brave lion who takes commands for no one but me. Now Richie crush him!"

_I'm in a bad spot here I can't get the oversized housecat to back down._

"UGGHH' I groaned as a claw collided with my side and I slide across the ground. In the distance I heard barking. I looked up and saw that Chou-Chou was attempting to defend his store but wasn't fairing any better than I had. I wanted to get up and try and help the poor thing but I couldn't move no matter how hard I tried. That poor dog was being ripped to shreds and there was nothing I could do to help it.

_So this is what being helpless feels like. I won't forget this feeling. _

* * *

Mohji and Richie walked away from what was left of the store with their prize in hand as I sat there thinking. By the time I was even able to sit up they were long gone.

"What happened to you?" I heard I voice I recognized as Luffy's ask me. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"You sound like Zoro now, just doing your own thing not listening to anybody."

"Since when are you the one who lectures me," I joked still not even having turned to face my friend "Just take care of what I couldn't."

"I was going to do that anyway. I'll be back soon." he said walking away.

* * *

It wasn't long before Nami and The Mayor showed up and saw the burning pile of ashes that had been the pet store.

I turned to face The Mayor "I'm sorry this place was destroyed because of me."

"Just like pirates to destroy everything others hold dear" Nami said insulting a whole way of life.

"Shut up" I said calmly "you don't understand anything."

"Oh and look here's his partner in crime" She said alerting me to Luffy's return "come to help your friend destroy more of this town."

Luffy said nothing and walked past Nami and up to Chou-Chou. He placed a slightly charred and misshapen box in front of the dog

"I'm sorry this was all I could save that lion ate the rest."

"It's fine" I told him "It never should've been take to begin with this was my mistake and Buggy and his crew will pay for it. You fought well dog; you lasted longer than I did, so please let my fight the next battle for you."

At that our canine friend picked up his food and walked away sending one last bark my way "Thanks" I answered "I'll need all the support I can get if I'm gonna beat Buggy and reclaim your town."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading and feedback is appreciated.**

**Also I wanted to mention when it comes to names I'm just going to be using what the One Piece Wiki has listed. So if you think a name is spelt wrong sorry.**


	7. Chapter 7:The Battle Begins

_Italics indicates thinking _

**Bold for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

After defeating the Beast Tamer Mohji Luffy has returned to regroup with Steve. The two begin to get ready for their fight against Buggy and his crew.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." Nami said.

"It's fine I understand. You haven't even said it but I can tell by the look on your face that pirates have taken a lot from you, so it's ok." I accepted the apology and began getting ready for the upcoming fight.

"I can't take it anymore." The Mayor shouted "You guys and Chou-Chou are fighting why is it that I, The Mayor of this place, can only stand by and watch as everything we worked so hard for is destroyed by pirates."

"Just come down sir." Nami instructed.

"To a real man there are just some fights you can't avoid, right kid?"

"You bet old man." Luffy said excitedly.

The Mayor began telling us the story of how this village was founded and built from the ground up.

"I'm the chief of this village. I'm going to stand and fight!" The Mayor yelled proudly picking up a spear.

Just then another explosion rocked the village and a cannonball flew past us and annihilated all the homes in its path.

"GAHH! Even my house!" Boodle screamed as he looked towards what had been his home but was now just a pile of firewood.

_Oh Crap! Zoro!_

"Zoro was still inside!" I said voicing my worry.

Relief struck all of us when we saw some of the rubble move.

"Zoro are you still alive." Luffy asked hoping to see our friend emerge unscathed.

"Yeah. Hell of a way to get woken up." Zoro said emerging from the ruins of the former home.

The Mayor suddenly spoke up and began giving himself some sort of pep talk. He attempted to run and fight but Nami stopped him saying that it was too dangerous.

"I know it's reckless!" He yelled as he ran off to go confront Buggy.

"The chief was crying." Noted Nami.

"Really I didn't see a thing." Luffy smirked. I could tell by that look that he didn't care what the mayor was feeling our path was set.

"This is starting to get fun." Zoro remarked.

"I agree." Laughing the three of us got ready for our upcoming clash.

"How are you three so calm?" our orange haired friend asked.

"Relax," Luffy told her "I like that mayor so we won't let him die."

_Time to find out if we can truly rely on Nami. _

"Our destination is the Grand Line. So we'll need to steal that map you had from Buggy. Since you need the map to will you be joining us?" I stuck my hand out awaiting her answer.

"I won't become a pirate. Let's just call it partners." She slapped my hand away and we began heading towards Buggy base.

_I didn't like that answer. But for now it'll do._

* * *

Along the way to the fight Nami tried to convince Zoro to stay out of it and rest his injury, but he was having none of that.

"I'll be fine. My body will heal on its own but my pride will need to be recovered since all I did in the last fight was get hurt."

"Exactly Zoro and I got our asses kicked in our last encounters with Buggy's crew we need to reclaim our honor." I added as we approached the bar Buggy was at.

As we got closer I could see that The Mayor was being held in a chokehold by one of Buggy's disembodied hands.

"I'll take care of this." I said running ahead of my friends.

Buggy was on some monologue about treasure and destroying the town, but I didn't care I grabbed the hand and freed Boodle.

Guess that's when Buggy saw that I had arrived on the scene.

"The Red Head." Buggy noted giving me the stink eye.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I made a promise to reclaim this town and that's what I'm gonna do."

"So you've come without any fear." Buggy started returning his hand to his body "YOU'RE ALL DEAD!"

"Listen I'm just here for the map not to fight them" Nami told us leaving all the work up to us.

* * *

Apparently our arrival wasn't just unappreciated by the pirates but also The Mayor. He was upset that we weren't letting him do the fighting and told us to stay out of his fight and not to interfere. Luffy wasn't too keen on The Mayor's ramblings and proceeded to smash his head into a wall to shut him up.

_No need to be so violent we could have talked it out._

"Why did you do that?" Nami then proceeded to chew Luffy out for his treatment of the mayor.

I interrupted her tirade "Because he would have just gotten in our way."

"He might have charged in recklessly if he was left alone." Zoro added on "He'll be safer unconscious."

It was time for us to begin our long awaited fight.

"Hey big nose!" Luffy yelled.

With that they didn't waste any time trying to eliminate us. They fired the cannon again and Nami ran for cover. Zoro tried to get Luffy to dodge but he wasn't budging.

"You think I'll move just because of some cannonball." taunted Luffy.

Luffy used his **Gum-Gum Balloon** technique to bounce the explosive back at the men who fired it.

The explosion destroyed the bar and most of the people on it if I had to guess.

"Good you lowered their numbers." I praised.

"How did you do that?!" Nami questioned.

"We're not done yet" I pointed out the injured bodies being used as shields by Buggy and another man.

"How cruel using their own crew as shield." Nami said.

Buggy began conversing with the other man who had withstood the blast by using what I now recognized as Richie. I saw that Mohji was emerging from the rubble, and was very pissed that this other man had used his pet as a shield. The two began bickering until Mohji tried to Buggy about the fact that Luffy was rubber, which shocked Nami. Mohji was throw at us by Buggy for not informing him of that important fact.

"MOVE!" Mohji screamed at me.

"No how about you move." I answered whipping him in the face and gaining satisfaction for my earlier loss. "Can't believe I lost to you once."

I saw that Zoro was blocking Luffy from and attack by a man on a unicycle. Luffy offered to fight on Zoro's behalf since he was injured but Zoro stood his ground. The man who had introduced himself as Cabaji went straight at Zoro, breathing fire into his face and kicking his wound. Zoro crashed to the ground in pain while Cabaji continued his assault.

_This guy's fighting style is all trick-attacks kicking dirt, breathing fire, and spinning tops._

I was beginning to get worried that Zoro might actually die when he stood up and did the unthinkable.

"Did you find attacking my wound that much fun?" Zoro took his sword and cut his own wound "That enough of a handicap for you? I will become the world's greatest swordsman; let me show you the difference in our skills."

"You can't possible win with that injury." Cabaji taunted "You can use that as the excuse when I beat you."

Nami informed Luffy and I that she was going to sneak into a warehouse to steal from Buggy since we were going to retrieve the map form Buggy himself.

"And if you manage to get the map we may work together again in the future."

She wished us luck and ran off down an alley in search of treasure. I turned my attention back to Zoro's fight but saw no sign of Cabaji. That was till I looked to the sky and saw him flying through the air throwing small tops at Zoro. He readied himself and preformed a direct downward stab that I had no worries about Zoro blocking except Buggy was sending a hand right for him, to hold him still to prevent him from dodging.

Luffy stepped up and stomped on the hand "Don't interfere with their fight."

Zoro leapt out of the way of Cabaji attack and moved his swords into position to attack and dashed at Cabaji "**Oni Giri!**" and with that Cabaji fell to the ground defeated saying that he was ashamed to have lost to a thief.

"I'm not a thief, I'm a pirate." corrected Zoro as he collapsed.

Zoro fell asleep and left the rest of the fight up to Luffy and I.

"You mean your pirates?" Buggy asked

"Yep so hand over the map of the Grand Line" I said pulling my whips out and preparing to strike.

"Why would no-names like you even wanna go to the Grand Line it's not like they offer sightseeing tours." Buggy joked

"We're gonna be kings of the pirates." Luffy and I stood our ground with serious looks on our faces.

"You two, Kings of the Pirates? Like hell next they'll say I'm GOD!" Buggy yelled.

"Enough let's get started, I'm ending this." I said

"Seeing your disgusting red hair reminds me of that other red headed guy." Buggy had a look of displeasure on his face.

_There's that look again. Like he's seen me before._

"Red Haired? Do you know Steve's dad?" Luffy asked.

"I thought I told you to keep that information on the down low."

"So you really are related to him. Yeah I know him what's it to you."

"Where are they? My parents." I wanted to know so bad. I haven't seen mom and dad since I was little. I just wanted to know if they were ok.

"Maybe I do maybe I don't." Buggy said holding the information over my head.

"I don't get it" Luffy butted into the conversation.

"I mean that I'm not nice enough to tell your friend what he wants to know. And I'll kill him before he can hear the answer."

"Luffy!" I yelled "You stay out of this. I'm fighting this alone."

"But I'm the one who challenged him first."

"You took down the fur ball earlier; you already had your fun. Besides this guy and I have something to discuss."

"Fine."

"Here we go. I'll crush you and make you tell me what I want to know."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading feedback is appreciated.**


	8. Chapter 8: Family History

_Italics Indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

Steve has just discovered that Buggy knows his father, Shanks. With this information Steve challenges Buggy to a fight for the fate of the town.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

I stared Buggy down as we got ready for our clash. I was worried, how was I going to strike a man who could separate his body. I would be in for a challenge but hopefully I could handle what got thrown at me. Speaking of thrown Buggy launched his legs at me in an attempt to cut me in two. I jumped over them and dodged his attack only to be met with more Knives flying my way.

I felt it was my turn to strike. I shot my whip in Buggy's direction hoping to end the fight quickly. "**Whip Crack!" **Unfortunately Buggy dodged my attack.

"There's one big flaw with you fighting style." Buggy said eyeing the whip that had flown past his head "You're not the only one who can grab them." Buggy then grabbed one of the whips and tugged pulling me towards him.

"You to know I have two whips right?" I picked up speed and ran towards Buggy and took a horizontal swing But Buggy dodge using a technique he called **Quick Escape** and detaching his head.

I slid to a stop behind Buggy as he put his head back on "Damn you're powers are a pain. Just stay together so I can crush you."

"**Chop-Chop Cannon!" **Buggy launched his fist full on knives at me. I grabbed it to stop it from cutting my face off why the hand broke off from the part I as holding and cut my face.

_I'm bleeding. Damn, hope I don't end up with a scar like Luffy._

"I don't get it. What could you possibly have against my dad that makes you want me dead so much? Did he try and kill you or something?" I couldn't understand it. I've meant people who disliked dad before but this was the first who was truly irate over just the mention of his name.

"I hate him with every fiber of my being. I will get my revenge one day. Revenge on Shanks the man who ruined my life! And then after I end him, I'll end yours as well. I'll wipe out his whole family.

_That's it I'm done screwing around._

"SHUT UP! Don't you dare talk about my family like that? You know nothing about them." I was angry. Angrier then I had ever been before.

* * *

**Luffy's POV**

I'd never seen Steve this upset. I knew he took matters of family seriously but something was different this time he looked like he was going to snap. He's never gotten anywhere near this upset with me. I had thought about stepping in even though Steve told me to stay back but now that he looked the way he did I was afraid to get involved.

Buggy spoke "I guess I should tell you that Shanks and I go way back. We used to serve on the same ship together we were comrades."

Steve charged at Buggy with a demonic look in his eyes "You say you were friends then why want him dead." Steve took a swing but once again Buggy dodged his attack. Or that was what it looked, like except Steve attack both low while swinging high and punched Buggy in the stomach.

Steve walked up to Buggy "Don't you ever threaten my family again or I'll kill you, slowly." He wasn't joking around he looked down right murderous.

"I can speak about him however I want **Chop-Ch…" **

"Don't move a muscle." Steve instructed. He was standing over Buggy with his whip in opposition to hit his face if he so much as breathed wrong. "Now speak worm, why do you hate my father."

"I can never forgive that man, he took everything from me."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Buggy told me some lame sob story about how Dad was the reason he had devil fruit powers and that now he can't swim in order to find a treasure he was searching for.

"So Shanks saved your life?" Luffy chimed in. Seems like this guy owed dad one. Maybe that's why he was upset he doesn't like to owe people.

"No, it was not only the ability to get the treasure he stole but something much more important."

_What the hell is it now? How much did the old man take from this guy?_

"He is not only robbed me of my ability to swim he also stole the heart of my true love."

_He can't possibly be serious. Is he talking about mom?_

"Yes it's true he took my sweet Lilly from me." Now I was confused, is he implying that mom had a thing for him? Mom like this freak. I don't think so.

"I find it hard to believe you ever dated my mother."

"Well we never dated per say but I always harbored affections for her, and he knew how I felt and took her from me." Highly doubt that dad was even aware that this nut cared about mom.

"Listen I don't care about your weird love triangle with my parents. Even then I highly doubt that…" I looked over to check if Zoro was asleep thankfully he was. "…Uncle Mihawk would ever let you near my mother." I had to make sure Zoro didn't here. I wasn't sure how he would react if he found out his captain was related to the man he was aspiring to defeat.

"Well it is true Lilly was very fond of me. The power of Love can't be stopped even by the world's greatest swordsman. She used to wink at me and ask me to do her favors all the time. Like swim to get her things because she couldn't do it herself"

_Sounds like mom was using this guy to do stuff for her to compensate for her devil fruit powers._

"That's why when I lost my ability to swim she turned to that Red Haired bastard; I vowed to impress her by gathering all the treasure on land. That's why I won't tolerate anyone stealing from me." Buggy launched his upper body in the direction of the warehouse Nami had gone to earlier. Nami, who had recently emerged with bags of treasure, was directly in the line of fire with no way to defend herself. That was when I saw his lower body and decided to test an idea.

I ran up and pulled out a whip a swung at the torso. I collided with Buggy's rear-end and the front of his body felt the pain and crash landed. "You're fighting me stay focused. Luffy take Nami and the treasure out of here you'll just keep getting in the way."

Buggy began telling Nami off for calling it her treasure and she responded by telling him she wasn't going to be lectured by a pirate. Buggy then burst into dozens of pieces flying in all directions.

_There has to be a limit. All devil Fruits have weaknesses I just need to find his._

That's when I noticed that his feet weren't flying. I grabbed one and threw it "Here Luffy play with this." Luffy took off the shoe and tickled and pinched Buggy's foot to distract him from chasing Nami, Who decided that since she had a moment of rest to swing the treasure at Buggy.

"The treasure has returned" Buggy said holding on to the bag Nami had been carrying "Now girl let go." Buggy sent two knives at Nami but I stepped in to prevent serious injury,

"Don't lose focus on your opponent. **Whip Crush!**" I slammed my whips into Buggy face and saved Nami. Buggy dropped to the ground with a whimper.

"Thank you for saving me" Nami dusted herself off and stood "the treasure got scatted all over. Oh! Where's the map" I went over and picked up the map.

"Wait Red!" Buggy yelled as his head floated up "I'll kill you now once and for all"

"Your still alive?" I realized that Buggy was calling his body parts back to him but only his hands and feet returned making him look like a deformed midget.

"Are you looking for these?" Nami asked showing she had all of Buggy's remaining parts tied up

"Nice Job. I'll finish it now." I sent both my whips back and ran forward "Get lost shrimp, **Whip Gale-force!" **My whips collided with Buggy's tiny body and sent him flying off into the sky. "Victory is mine."

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	9. Chapter 9: Usopp

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

Fresh off their defeat of the Buggy Pirates Luffy, Steve and their friends begin to depart the island.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Nami was cheering over my victory. She was pleased with her treasure haul, she said it was over Ten million Beli. She divided it into two bags and had Luffy carry one for her. Luffy went over to check on Zoro and make sure he was still alive

"Hey you" A group of villagers asked us walking into the village. They wanted to know if we the pirates had destroyed the village. Then they saw their chief and became concerned.

"Sorry I did that." Luffy admitted to knocking the old man out cold like it was nothing.

"Why did you tell them that?" Nami and I asked simultaneously. The townspeople then wanted to know why we did it and if we were pirates. "We're pirates"

_You Idiot! _The citizens charged at us assuming we had been the one to destroy the town, which was half true we did fight there.

"Let's run" I grabbed Zoro and Nami and Luffy grabbed the treasure as we made our way to the shore.

"Why did you make things so complicated?" Nami asked

"You should have kept your mouth shut you idiot." I continued to scold my friend until he got oddly philosophical.

"This is a great village. Look how upset they are over the mayor getting hurt."

We cut down an alley in an attempt to lose the mob. They were only stopped when our friend Chou-Chou stepped in to cover our escape. The villagers were upset that the dog was blocking them from chasing us. But we didn't have time to chat with our little friend we had to get to the port before we got killed by the crowd.

_Thanks Dog._

* * *

We arrived at the shore where Zoro and I had stowed our boat and Nami had left hers. Luffy complimented Nami on her boat when some familiar faces emerged from the cabin.

"We've been waiting. Seems the thief has her whole crew with her." The men walked up to threateningly Nami before I stepped up.

"I suggest you worthless pieces of garbage back off unless you want to get beat again." I shot the men a demonic glare and as soon as they recognized my face they were off running.

"Wow that was incredible, but lose that weird fetish thing where you call people dirt." Nami Said thanking me.

"What are you talking about? Are you referring to how I called them garbage, I don't have a weird domination thing if that's what you think."

"Yeah the guy who fights with whips and calls people garbage and worm, totally not into weird fetish stuff." Nami shrugged her shoulders

"You do usually have a smile when you fight." Luffy added.

"IM NOT SOME PERVERT!" now I was red with embarrassment.

_Do I really look like some perverted dominatrix?_

We got off that subject as quickly as possible and got the boats ready to sail. Nami took her own and the guys and I rode in the other. We had just started to drift away from the island when we noticed The Mayor was at the dock.

"Stop Right There!" yelled the Mayor. I wasn't sure what he would be upset about besides the fact that Luffy had smashed his head into a wall. "THANK YOU! I OWE YOU!"

As we drifted out to sea Nami came to an unfortunate realization, that Luffy had left his bag of treasure behind. She tried to drown him but I put a stop to that. And like that we laughed it off and sailed on to our next location with our new navigator in tow.

* * *

We had been sailing for a few days when we came to the conclusion that we needed supplies. Luffy wanted to head straight for the Grande Line but Nami and I put a quick stop to that.

"We can't go to the Grand line in a ship like this" Nami said putting her thinking face on.

"We also need more members and equipment. Four people isn't really a stable crew." I added to our list of problems. Nami suggested we head to a small island north of us so we could prepare and stock up for the upcoming journeys.

We actual arrived at our destination successfully thanks to Nami. We got out and stretched our legs when Zoro pointed out that we were being watched by four people. Three of them ran off leaving the tallest one behind.

"I'm the great pirate leader Usopp." A long nosed man introduced himself "I suggest you turn around. I'll have you know I have eighty million men under my control."

"You're lying." Both Nami and I called the man out on his bluff. We all laughed at this man and his ridiculous statements. Usopp led us to a bar in town. We talked and told him that we were looking for a crew and a big ship.

"Well there's only one place you can find that stuff in this village. There's a mansion just outside of the village the ship belongs to the mansion's owner." Usopp explained he went on to say that the owner was a sickly young girl whose parents had died and left the mansion to her.

Long nose then said he would join our crew if we let him be captain to which the rest of us just ignored him.

"I have something to take care of I'll see you guys later." Usopp got up and walked out of the bar. We sat in the bar for a while just talking and eating when three kids came in. they started to demand we tell them where Usopp was. Luffy finally finished eating and complimented the meat causing the kids to lose it.

_They think we ate him?_

Zoro decided to freak the kids out "Your captain, we ate him." Well the kids freaked out and thought we really ate him. Nami yelled at us for being childish. They asked what time it was and told us that Usopp had gone to the mansion outside that he was talking about earlier.

"Why does he go there?" Luffy asked.

"He goes to lie." They explained that he goes there to lie to the girl who lives in the house and tell her stories to cheer her up. Luffy decided that he wanted to ask this girl if we could have a ship. We left the bar and walked across town with the hope of getting a ship.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**

**Sorry this one is shorter than usual. I caught a cold and I'm not felling to great but I started this chapter and wanted to get to a good stopping point.**


	10. Chapter 10: Parents

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

After arriving on a new island with the goal of retrieving a ship the Strawhats meet Usopp and he recommends they ask a local rich girl for assistance.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

After walking for a while we arrived at a mansion with a large iron gate. Luffy said hello to the gate and then proceeded to just hop over it anyway.

"Guess we're following him." Zoro said as we all started to climb the fence. The mansion was a nice place. Big house, large yard with a green lawn and trees, the place was fancy, the girl who lives there must really be rich.

We followed the kids around the outside of the house till we found Usopp sitting by a tree talking to a girl in window. Usopp wasn't too happy to see us. When the young lady in the window asked who we were Usopp told her that we had come to join his pirate crew.

"That's not even close. We're here because we have a request." I interrupted. Luffy told the girl we were looking for a ship and asked her if she could help us. Before she could answer a man wearing a pair of glasses and a fancy suit came up and started yelling at us to get out. Usopp and the young girl referred to the man as Klahadore. When the girl in the window tried to explain he told her to be quiet.

"We want a ship." Luffy's request was swiftly denied by the butler. Klahadore turned his attention to Usopp, who attempted to lie his way out of the situation.

"I'm not surprised you lied," the butler started "you are the son of a filthy pirate. I'm not surprised you act this way. Stay away from Miss Kaya."

"Luffy his dad's a pirate. Didn't Yassop say he had a son named Usopp?" I thought out loud.

"Yeah he used to tell that story about how he had a son like a hundred times." Luffy responded.

Klahadore began picking a fight with Usopp telling him to stay away from Kaya and asking him if he wanted money. Kaya demanded that her butler apologize but he said he had done nothing wrong.

"You must be ashamed of your father since he deserted you." Kaya told him to be quiet but the man kept talking. Usopp was getting angry I was worried he was going to do something he might regret I was about to step in when Klahadore said "You should have just made up a story about how you're not really related."

Well that was the last straw and Usopp punched the butler in the face. Most were shocked but I wasn't, I would have done the same thing in his situation.

"See resorting to violence just like a pirate thug."

"SHUT UP!" Usopp interrupted the man "I'm proud of my dad. He's a brave warrior of the sea. I'm the son of a pirate and I will never be ashamed of that."

Klahadore was kicking Usopp out just for being the son of a pirate saying he was just after Kaya's money. Usopp was going to hit the man again when Kaya stopped him, defending her butler saying he was just doing his job and looking out for her.

"All you savages get out of here." Usopp left in a huff saying he wouldn't be back. The kids started to defend their "captain" and Luffy joined in with them.

"I'll kill him!" Luffy yelled. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him along "Come on we have something else to take care of."

* * *

I dragged Luffy out of town and to a cliff were we found Usopp siting staring out at the sea. Luffy dropped in unexpectedly scaring our long nosed friend.

"Your dad's Yassop right." I said walking up from behind him. Usopp was stunned.

"How'd you know?" Usopp had a look of joy and confusion on his face.

"\You look like him, I've know your dad for a long as I can remember." I told him taking a seat. Dad had been friends with Yassop for a while when I was born. I far back as I remember he was always hanging around with dad and his crew.

Usopp asked if I knew where his dad was I gave him the same answer anyone who asks me that gets "Don't know really, somewhere on the Grand Line with my dad, Shanks."

"Yassop was always one of my favorite members." Luffy added.

The look of joy on Usopp's face was indescribable. He was so happy his dad was on the ship of a great pirate "So you know what it's like to have a pirate for a parent to huh?" he asked me.

"Yeah both my parents are pirates." I explained "So I sympathize with the way that butler treated you. You dad is a great pirate don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Really my dad a great pirate sailing with Red Haired Shanks, it's almost unbelievable." Usopp said.

"Why your dad is a great sharpshooter maybe even the best. He can hit anything."

* * *

_**Flashback**_

It was a sunny day Dad and his crew were partying like usual.

"Come on Mister Yassop do that thing were you shoot an apple from really far away" I begged I wanted to see the trick so bad. "Oh yeah do it!" Rose joined me in begging to see it

"I don't know kids you've seen that trick a million times how about we change it up" Yassop threw me and apple "Steve, you put this on your head and go stand over there, and I'll shoot it off."

" Oh! No you won't!" Mom yelled as her blue hair flowed in the breeze "You won't be harming a single hair on my precious baby's head." Mom pulled me into an overprotective hug and squeezed the life out of me

"Let go." I wheezed out.

"Please Miss Lilly let him do it, it'll be so cool." Luffy added.

"No way. What if he misses he could kill my little Stevie." Mom was being her usual overprotective self. Yassop kept assuring her he wouldn't miss and there was nothing to worry about.

"Let him take the shot." Dad said "he won't miss Steve will be fine." Mom didn't bother to argue with dad but she said if I got hurt he would be in big trouble.

I ran to the spot I was told and put the apple on my head. I wasn't nervous I knew he wouldn't miss, Yassop never misses.

BANG!

Just like that I felt the weight leave my head and the apple fell to the ground with a perfect hole right in the center. Everyone cheered and we went back to the party where Yassop told that boring story about his son Usopp for like the thousandth time.

_**END Flashback**_

* * *

"Wow you let my dad shoot something of your head."

"Yassop was always really popular." Luffy laughed

"Even though he left me here I've always been proud of my dad and I won't ever let anyone look down on him especially not that damn butler."

"So are you giving up seeing that girl?" I asked

"Maybe if that butler apologizes"

Luffy asked which butler we were referring to and pointed to the beach where Klahadore was talking to a man. The two started discussing their plans to assassinate the lady of the house.

A man who I didn't recognize but was easily noticed with his blue jacket and heart glasses referred to Klahadore as Captain Kuro. Usopp said he remember the name from stories of a pirate who carefully planned out his attacks but had been executed a few years ago by the marines. The two men on the beach talked about how they would dispose of Kaya and steal her fortune through a doctored will.

Luffy was completely lost on the conversation and didn't really understand any of what was happening. Usopp was in a panic because the only people he cared about were going to danger. After I explained to Luffy what was happening he stood up and yelled to Kuro and his friend not to harm Kaya.

That drew their attention to the three of us on the cliff. They asked if we heard anything. Usopp told them no, but I confirmed the truth "Yes we heard everything. You disgust me."

The men on the beach mumbled something to themselves and then the peculiar looking one started swinging a disc and told us to look at it. "On my count you will fall asleep."

_Is this hypnotism. It's not like that stuff really works._

"One… Two…Jango!" I suddenly felt like I needed a nap. Then everything went dark.

* * *

**AN **

**Thank You for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	11. Chapter 11: Friend in Need

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

Steve and Luffy have just told Usopp that they know his father, Yassop. During their discussion they overhear a plot to kill Usopp's friend Kaya. Also Luffy and Steve fell off a cliff.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

YAWN!

Well that was a good nap but I don't wanna open my eyes just yet, five more minutes.

"Will you two idiots get up?!" _Am I dreaming, that sounds like Nami? She thinks she can boss me around?_

"NOW!"

"Ow that hurt." I said being jolted awake.

"Can you get off me please?" I looked down and saw I was lying across Luffy. I quickly stood up and looked around to see Zoro, Nami and the three kids from earlier.

"What happened to you two and where's Captain Usopp?" The boy with the hat asked.

_What did happen? Last I remember was spying on Kuro and that other weirdo. Then I woke up here._

"I remember a hypnotist telling us to go to sleep but I didn't think it would actually work." I responded "Oh and the butler is really a pirate and he's gonna try and kill Kaya."

That sent the kids into a tizzy. Nami was already angry with my and Luffy for getting hypnotized.

"Calm down. It was an accident. You shouldn't boss you captains around you know." I was trying to keep Nami in line because she kept acting superior and pushing Luffy around.

"Well too bad, you'll get what you deserve and you'll do what I tell you."

With that Nami and I got into an argument over who had to listen to who when we finally settled on mutual destruction. Neither of us ordered the other and we both pushed everyone else around.

"You kids should run away now while you still have the chance before those pirates destroy the village." Nami advice was smart but useless this wasn't a very large island where could they possibly go. Luffy kept saying we needed to get back to town and get meat from the butcher before he fled town.

"We should probably get out of here before those pirates show up." Zoro suggested. He was right, under normal circumstances I would cut our loses and leave now, but this was a special case.

"No we won't leave yet."

"Why not? There's nothing else for us to do here." Nami added backing up Zoro's suggestion.

"I won't abandon Usopp. He's important to someone I know. I could never forgive myself if I let him die here. Also Kaya is a nice girl and doesn't deserve to die. We wait and when we see Usopp we offer him our help." I was being serious and I think the others could tell because no one objected.

"I like that idea!" Luffy added "Let's head back and see if we can find him."

* * *

We headed back to the village following our three young friends from earlier. It wasn't too long before we ran across Usopp. He was pretty shocked to see Luffy and I were still alive.

"But we just woke up" was our response. Even if we fell off the cliff Luffy's body is rubber and it wasn't that steep we could have survived without and severe injuries.

His younger companions confronted him with the information about the pirates, but he just laughed it off. I could tell he was lying to them. Needless to say the kids were pretty upset that he had made up a lie just to hurt someone and wandered off depressed.

* * *

We walked back to the beach with Usopp. He explained that he tried to warn the village but since he always lied to them no one believes him.

"They will attack tomorrow, and no one believes me. They think tomorrow will just be a normal day." Usopp got a look in his eye stood up and said "Then I'll be the one to protect the village and they'll think it's just another lie. I love this place and I want to protect it. I don't want them to die."

"You're a pretty good guy." Zoro complimented "You dismissed your crew so you could do this alone."

"Now I defiantly wanna help out." Luffy was getting excited he was looking forward to another fight.

"What kind of friends would we be if we abandoned you in your time of need?" I solidified our stance. Nami claimed all the treasure for herself in exchange for her assistance.

Usopp looked amazed that we were going to help him out "Why are you guys helping me?"

"Because you look terrified." "You're severely outnumbered." "I'd never be able to face you dad again if I let you die." Zoro, Luffy, and I laid out our reasons for lending a hand. Usopp denied that he was scared but his body was shaking in fear.

"I don't need your sympathy go away!" Usopp yelled.

"We're not sympathizing were honoring your courage to stand alone." Zoro explained why we wanted to help. It wasn't about trying to make Usopp fell worse this was to help him do the right thing and not die trying.

"Why else would we risk our lives?" Luffy asked.

Usopp began crying about how touched he was for us to offer to help him. He explained how the pirates would need to go up a slope that was the only way into town, and if we could protect the slop we would prot4ect the village. Usopp asked what each of our skills was.

"Cutting" "Stretching" "Beating" "Stealing"

"Ok I'm good at hiding." "You're fighting to!" We yelled back.

"We need a better way to protect this hill than just five people" I said. There was no way the five of us could stop an entire pirate crew in such a small area without heavy weapons. Especially since Nami and Usopp weren't the strongest of fighters.

"I've got an idea." Usopp went on to explain that we could dump oil down the slope to make it slippery and hard to climb.

* * *

After dumping a barrel of slimy goop down on the slope. We got ready for the attack. The only thing that seemed like it would go wrong is if we fell down the slope ourselves.

"Sun's coming up. They'll be here soon." Zoro pointed out that soon we would be in for a fight.

We waited a few more minutes "They should have been here by now." I pointed out getting worried. They we taking too long it was already daybreak and there wasn't even a ship in sight.

"Anyone else here yelling coming from over there?" Nami asked

I twisted my neck around and gave Usopp and demonic glare "Don't tell me you were wrong." Usopp explained that since this was where the meeting had taken place he thought the attack was here too. He said if we ran we could get to the north shore in three minutes. Luffy took off running with Usopp not to far behind. Zoro and I were turning to leave when Nami yelled for help.

Nami had started to slip on the oil and fall down the hill. Zoro and I reached out to pull her up and she grabbed our hands, used us and made us fall down the hill so she could escape.

"Sorry but my treasure is on that shore. It's in danger I'm sure you two can figure a way out on your own." With that Nami ran off into the forest.

"I'm gonna kill her" growled Zoro.

"We can yell at her later. Let's just try and climb up, there's no rock for me to use as an anchor point to attach my whip."

After minuets of trying to run up an oil slick hill Zoro finally decided to use his swords to claw his way up. He started to run and leave me behind "Where are you going, don't leave me. Wait there I'll use you so I can climb out."

I shot my whip so it wrapped around Zoro's waist and used it to pull myself out of the trap. Zoro and I made a run for the north shore. Zoro and I went a quickly as we could getting through the forest. A ways in we found Luffy staring at a wall.

"What are you doing you're supposed to be helping Usopp!" I screamed

"I got lost, which way's north?" I grabbed Luffy and pulled him along telling him to follow me.

We arrived at the shore to a surprise. Usopp was in bad shape and the pirates were charging the top of the slope. Luckily the three of us arrived in time to stop them. We sent them flying back to the beach.

"What took you so long?" Nami scoffed. I was angry.

_What does she think took us so long she pushed us down the hill?_

"She wants to know what took us so long" Zoro said holding back his temper

"Don't know I just wanna kick ass" Luffy answered.

"Well let's tell them guys. Why were we so late to the party?" I said with a smirk.

"How dare you kick us down!" "_**NAMI!**_" "Usopp you didn't tell me how to go north."

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**

**Probably won't be another chapter till Monday. I have a busy weekend.**


	12. Chapter 12: The Slope

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

After being left behind in various ways Luffy, Steve, and Zoro have arrived at the slope to help Nami and Usopp protect the village from pirates.

* * *

"What the hell Nami. You're the reason we're late. You pulled us down the slope." I was angry how dare she cop an attitude with me.

"Better that only you two fall then all of us" Nami answered.

"You were the one who should've fallen in the first place." Zoro said entering the argument

Luffy was arguing with Usopp about directions when the pirates started to get up from the previous attack.

"We can argue about everything later, we need to pay attention the enemy is getting up." I pointed out.

The man with the glasses pulled out some kind if pendulum and began doing something to his men.

"He's using hypnotism to make them stronger." Nami said

_What an absurd idea using made-up magic in a fight._

And like that on his count the men were overcome with a violent bloodlust and grew stronger.

"No Way!" Usopp screamed at how the man had successfully powered up his men. One of the newly strengthened pirates punched the cliff side and made it crumble.

"Holy Crap!" I was stunned. They really grow stronger; they went from barely able to stand to being able to crush rock with their bare fists.

"Just how much stronger are they?" Zoro asked "You two get out of here leave this to us." Nami and Usopp ran off to the top of the slope to hide leaving Zoro, Luffy, and I to fight the hypnotized men.

"Hey Luffy listen don't do anything stupid okay. Luffy?" That was odd Luffy always answers when I talk to him. I looked over and had to struggle not to go over there and pummel that dope.

Luffy let out a loud scream. "You got hypnotized to!" all of us were surprised at just how stupid Luffy was to have gotten hypnotized, that would never happen to me.

Luffy ran forward screaming and throwing his fists around widely.

"Luffy wait" I yelled after him but he wasn't paying me any mind. He just kept running and knocking pirates out left and right with a move I wasn't to familiar with.

"**Gum-Gum Gatling!" **Luffy took out most of the men but kept running forward and collided with the enemy ship. He gripped the front and tore it off.

I wasn't sure whether to be happy like Nami and Usopp or nervous like Zoro.

_If he does stop these guys now how are we supposed to calm him down. I don't know if Zoro and I can take him on when he's like this._

"When I say One Two Jango you'll fall asleep." I hypnotist rushed through his command " ONE , TWO, JANGO!" Luffy lost all of his new found rage and passed out with the bow of the ship landing on top of him.

"I think they're finished." Nami said

"Aren't you worried he's being crushed by that ship?" Usopp asked worried. I realized that he didn't know about Luffy's power so he didn't understand that he would be just fine.

"He'll be fine that won't kill Luffy." I reassured my long nosed friend.

"Hey we're not done yet something's coming" Zoro told me.

I looked back towards the battle field; the fallen pirates were laughing saying "Get ready to die. You can't stand up to captain Jango's secret weapon."

"What's gonna come out now?" Zoro asked

"Whatever it is it won't be good." I responded "But I'm sure we can take on the challenge."

Jango summoned his last resort throwing his hands into the air he yelled "Come Out Nyaban Brothers!"

Two figures jumped down from the ship and landed at Jango's side. The two men were pretty strange looking one was short and skinny with green hair and the other was a large fat man with a bell around his neck.

"These idiots are blocking our way. Buchi, Sham I want you to take them out." Jango commanded the two brothers.

"We can't beat them." The shorter one pointed out.

"Yeah they look really strong." The fat one added.

"Are they really weak?" Usopp said.

"I don't know Usopp." I spoke "The men on the ground said we should be afraid so I thought they would pose some kind of threat. Also look at the fat one."

"What do you mean?" Nami asked.

"He's got scars. Scars I wager he got in fights. They are dangerous there just bluffing to try and fool us." I explained "They want us to think they're weak so they can catch us off guard. Don't hesitate to cut them down Zoro."

The short one did some half assed run towards us flailing his arms around as he ran. He picked up speed as he got closer and made his move at Zoro "Gotcha."

He reached to attack Zoro only to get easily blocked. "How did you know? Why were you prepared for my attack?"

"What a childish trick you really thought you could fool me." I was insulted that they had made little of me "That was a pathetic attempt at misdirection."

"It was still worth it." Sham said jumping back.

_What's he talking about?_

"Zoro your swords are gone." Nami yelled. Zoro looked down and sure enough two of his three swords were missing.

"You may have seen through my ruse but you still underestimated me."

"Dammit Zoro you should've been more careful." I was upset, the advantage we had gained by seeing thought the trick was lost since they still succeeded in the attack.

"Sorry. I was more focused on blocking the attack than protecting my swords. That was my fault. A true swordsman would treat his blades like and extension of his body and never let harm come to them."

Zoro was upset with himself for being too weak. He demanded the cat man return his swords but of course was swiftly denied. Sham took the katana off his back and threw them down the hill further pissing off Zoro and myself as well.

"How dare you, treat someone else's property with such disrespect." I charged and swung my whip through the man making contact. I kept up my run so that I could get the swords back to Zoro.

"Did you think you hit me?"

_What the?_

I felt pressure on my back as I turned and saw the man I just slammed riding on me.

"Lucky for me I have a very thin waist. Buchi it's your turn."

_You're kidding I only hit his shirt._

I saw that the fat cat was dropping like a meteor to crush me.

"ZORO HELP!" I yelled

"**Cat-apult Cat-astrophe!" **I looked up and saw that that Buchi was falling rapidly right at my head.

I felt a breeze and realized I was moving.

"Get out of the way!" I felt something tackle me to the ground. Upon colliding with the ground I looked around and saw Zoro was holding me down "Made it." He said gasping for air.

_He ran from the top of the hill and tackled me out of the way._

"Thanks." "No problem but next time make sure you hit him."

"This time you won't get away!" the brothers charged at us and Zoro and I readied our weapons.

"I'm not used to one sword style but I'll have to make due."

The two cat men attacked us with a flurry of scratching attacks. Zoro and I were doing our best to block them but he only had one sword and whips aren't really meant to be used to block quick strikes like theirs.

Then I heard Usopp and Nami start talking. "They can't counterattack like this they need us to create an opening" Usopp spoke

_No you idiot don't!_

"**Special Attack: Lead Star!" **Usopp fired off a bullet directly at the larger target, Buchi, Whom Zoro was holding off.

Zoro seeing the incoming attack rolled his body to take the shot himself. Allowing Buchi and Sham, who had leapt away from me, to slash him open.

Nami yelled at Usopp for shooting Zoro "But I didn't he moved into the line of fire on his own, He took that shot on purpose."

"Usopp you idiot!" I yelled as I used my whips to pull Zoro away from harm "You wanna die?" No sooner had I pulled Zoro out of the way were the brothers back on the offensive assaulting us.

"I just need one more sword." Zoro remarked "If I had just one more I could finish them easily."

I look around the swords were too far away. If I tried to get them I would get shredded running to them or Zoro would get double teamed when I left.

Nami suddenly entered my field of vision. She was attempting to get Zoro his swords when she was cut down by Jango's disc.

"Nami!" I was worried that was a serious wound.

_Wait?_

I had just been distracted why wasn't I just ripped apart by those two. I saw that both the brothers had suddenly stopped attacking and were standing there trembling.

"It's getting late Jango; care to explain WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" I recognized the voice as Kuro's, but I had more important things on my mind. I had my opening they were distracted.

"You should pay better attention when you in a fight." I threw my whips back and twisted them together in the air "**Whip Jetstream!" **My whips untangled in the air and slammed into a surprised Sham sending him flying into the cliffside.

"I didn't expect you to be held up by a bunch of kids. You're in a truly sorry state Jango. The rest of you look even more pathetic. I don't want any more excuses!" Kuro yelled at his crew. A couple of random underlings attempted to attack him for insulting them but as soon as they took a swing at him he disappeared.

He reappeared behind the men wearing two gloves that each had a blade attached to the end of each finger. He quickly cut down the men who attacked him and looked at the rest.

_How did he pull off that disappearing act, it was like he teleported._

The men were explaining that it was his silent step, a technique in which he quickly moved a great distance without making a noise.

"If the rest of you don't end this in five minutes I'll kill everyone here." Kuro said laying out his ultimatum.

"We can do it we can kill those two in five minutes" the crew was getting all excited again wanting to protect their lives.

"Zoro here!" Nami yelled running up and kicking his swords to us.

"Hey don't kick my swords!'"

"I'll kill you in five seconds and avenge my brother" Buchi said running at me and Zoro.

Zoro looked at me "You know there is a difference between using three swords and using Three Sword Style." He placed his sword in hi mouth **"Tiger Trap!"** Zoro slashed forward and took out Buchi in one move.

"No need to worry" I looked to Kuro "We'll be finished in less than five minutes."

"No way!" I looked over to see what had Zoro so surprised and I saw that Buchi was still standing "That damn blubber must have protected him."

The cat begged Jango to hypnotize him saying that he just needed a little more to finish Zoro and me off. Jango obliged and gave the man a boost.

"This is bad you saw how he crushed the ground before who knows what'll happen now." I was a little nervous this was difficult when he was just a normal guy but now. I'm not sure how tough he'll be.

I saw Nami making her way towards the beached ship attempting to wake Luffy when Jango threw his pendulum at her. She didn't see it, that thing would cut her head off.

"Nami duck!" I yelled so she would get out of the way.

"Why would you step on my face?!" Luffy yelled siting up from his nap and taking the disc to the back of the head. Everyone else got worried that Luffy was killed by the attack but I was confident he was okay.

"He woke up at just the right time" I reassured "He saved Nami and now he can help us fight."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank You for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	13. Chapter 13: Five Minutes

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

After dealing with Sham, Steve promises Kuro he and Zoro will end the fight in five minutes. At the same time Nami succeeds in waking Luffy who joins the fight.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"Good you're up, there's work to be done." I was happy Luffy was awake but he needed to hurry up so we could end this. Jango sent Buchi after me and Zoro and went to take Luffy on himself.

"Klahadore Stop This Right Now!" I looked up the slope and saw that Kaya was there.

The pirates realized that if they killed Kaya now they wouldn't have to waste time on the village but that wasn't what was bothering me. It was the look on Kuro's face. It was calm and unwavering. He wasn't at all shocked to see Kaya outside the mansion.

"What are you doing here Miss. This is no place for a lady like yourself."

_He's acting like he's still just a butler._

"Merry told me what you did." Kaya said

"Oh he's still alive. I didn't show him mercy." Kuro spoke cold-bloodedly.

"What are you doing here?" Usopp finally spoke up yelling at Kaya "I told you to run away! These pirates want to kill you!"

"Aren't you fighting? Even though your so hurt," Kaya was crying while talking to Usopp "you're fighting for me. Why?"

"It's because I care about you!" Usopp yelled back "What's so wrong about not wanting to see the people you care about die! I doesn't matter what happens! A real man stands up for the people he cares about even if it means he might die!"

_Where did this bravery come from? Usopp, Wow._

"He's right there are just some fights a real warrior can't walk away from." I said looking at Usopp with a smile. Kaya looked worried she turned to Kuro.

"Leave this place." Kaya said in a monotone voice

Kuro had a questioning look on his face "What did you just say?"

"I SAID GET OUT!" Kaya had a look I didn't think it was possible for he face to make, pure rage. "My friends are fighting to protect this village and I won't let you kill them. If you want my money you can have it, I don't need it. Just leave."

Kuro gave some speech about wanting peace of mind saying he could only leave after the village had been eradicated.

"Kaya you have to run he's going to kill you. Please just get out of here." I could hear the fear in Usopp's voice he was terrified that they would kill her right there.

Kaya reached into her jacket and pulled out a pistol, pointed it at Kuro and said "Leave this village."

Kuro looked surprised that she was actually threating him. He then began to reminisce about the time he had spent with Kaya, causing her to waver and put the gun down.

"And all that was just so I could kill you today."

That was the final straw for Usopp. He charged at Kuro but only hit the air as the man appeared behind him.

"That reminds me I still owe you for that punch Usopp." Kuro went to cut Usopp open only to be punched in the face by Luffy.

"If you hate to get hit so much." Luffy said "I'll make sure to give you a real beat down."

Most of the pirates on the shore we confused as to how Luffy had struck Kuro from so far. They were also scared at how angry the man was now that he had been knocked down.

Then it happened, stupidity on a level by someone who wasn't Luffy. Those three kids came up and began to pummel Kuro with pans and shovels.

Usopp and Kaya were shocked at the kids' arrival and I was terrified.

_What the hell are they thinking?_

"Stop it!" Usopp yelled at his younger friends

"Are you three trying to get yourselves killed? Get out of here!" I told them. This was no place for children.

The kids ignored Usopp and I a yelled about how Usopp was disloyal by not telling them the truth.

Kuro stood acting composed as always.

_He's gonna kill them._

But he didn't he walked right past them and kicked Usopp instead. Even that he just brushed off as he looked at Luffy "That was an intriguing attack. It appears you possess the powers of a Devil Fruit."

This guy was so focused on Luffy he was ignoring everyone else around him. "Jango! I'll take care of this kid you deal with Miss Kaya. Make her write the will, and then kill her." he looked over his shoulder "And those three brats, they irritate me."

Jango began to make his way up the hill till he came to Zoro and myself. "Not another step." Zoro instructed.

"Buchi!"

_Not again_.

I looked up and saw Buchi falling from the sky yet again in an attempt to crush us. We jumped out of the way but the entire side I had jumped had been demolished causing me to move further down the slope towards Luffy in order to dodge.

Buchi went straight after Zoro and ignored me now that I was so far away. In the distance I heard Usopp order the kids to take Kaya and run. I saw the kids grab Kaya's had and drag her to the forest.

I wanted to go after them but that meant I would first have to get past Buchi, Jango and Kuro. None of whom I thought would allow me to just stroll past. Jango began to follow after the kids only to be shot by Usopp who was crawling on the ground. Still it only briefly slowed him down before he was back after the fleeing group.

"Usopp don't you worry" Luffy yelled "Leave this to us."

"We'll need to hurry if we wanna catch up to that hypnotist." Zoro pointed out.

"Well I say we have, I don't know five minutes." I smirked as the three of us got ready for the final push. Off in the distance the sound of trees falling could be heard.

"You worked for Kaya for three years don't you feel any remorse?" Usopp asked

"No. Why would I, Kaya is just another part of my master plan." The coldblooded man answered.

"He's heartless." I said thinking out loud.

"This guy can't be saved." Zoro said.

"Never had any plans to save him" Luffy responded

Usopp struggled to get to his feet so he could help Kaya. As he stood Buchi made a move towards him only to be caught in a takedown by Zoro.

"We're in a hurry, stay out of the way." Zoro had his swords at the man's throat "if you just sit there quietly I won't kill you"

I looked up and Usopp's legs had finally given up after only a few steps.

"You're a joke" Kuro taunted "Even if you caught up to your no match Jango would kill you with them."

"Even if I'm no match I will protect my friends." Usopp said courageously trying to stand.

I guess we were all taken back by his statement because Zoro got distracted allowing Buchi to get up and strike him.

The pirates on the shore began harassing Usopp for his statement which only infuriated an already pissed off Luffy. He picked up one of the boulders and threw it at them.

"If any of you say another word about Usopp I'll kill all of you." All the men on the sand shut up. That reminded me how intimidating Luffy could be if he wanted to.

I heard a groan and saw that Zoro had taken out Buchi after a short struggle. "Hey I'm taking Usopp and going after the hypnotist that gonna be a problem?" Zoro asked throwing Usopp over his shoulder.

"No, just get going there's not much time" I said stressing about the time crunch.

As Zoro passed, Kuro spoke "Who said you could leave?"

"I did!" I responded throwing my whip towards him. He dodged my attack only to be forced further away by a punch from Luffy.

Kuro used his run maneuver to appear behind Luffy

"Duck!" Luffy did just as I instructed and avoided the attack with a handstand. Luffy clapped his feet together **"Gum-Gum Spear!" **but once again Kuro disappeared and avoided the attack.

"Before we continue this fight I have a question. Why are you, strangers to this place, getting involved in the affairs of this village?" Kuro asked us.

"Because there's someone who lives here that we don't want to see die" Luffy told him.

"Are you okay with that being your reason for dying?"

"Sure it doesn't matter. We aren't dying here." I said

Kuro started his assault running at us I threw my whips at one of his hands to pull him to the side but he used the other to cut the cords and broke free.

"Oh dear it appears you weapon is useless if it's that short." Kuro said

_He doesn't know. I've got him fooled._

"You don't know the real power behind these things at all" I swung my whips at Kuro "They can grow back! **Whip Lash!**" My whips collided with Kuro sending him flying back.

"HOW?!" Kuro looked stunned that he had just been hit.

"I love that trick, your mom's Devil Fruit is so cool." Luffy said jumping up and down laughing.

"My mother built these whips for me. Her Devil Fruit power allows her to control plants. The whips are made of ivy that grows very quickly. This allows the whips to be as long as I need them to be. I can cut them myself or make them grow with the push of a button."

"That doesn't make any sense you mother isn't here. How could her power still affect the plants?" Kuro said getting angry.

"She only needs to plant the seeds. That's the power of the Dryad-Dryad Fruit. As long as the roots remain intact the plant will carry out its purpose, and the purpose of this ivy is to grow."

While Kuro remained distracted by my explanation on the powers of my whips Luffy took the moment to attack throwing his fist at Kuro who woke up from our discussion in time to jump up and land on Luffy's arm. He broke out into a sprint and kicked Luffy in the face.

The pirates on the shore began cheering for their captain. Kuro became angry that they called him their captain saying that the true purpose of this plan was to eliminate the name Kuro forever.

"I've spent three years planning I refuse to let you disrupt it!" Kuro charged at us.

_All this just to stop being a pirate. How disgusting._

Luffy had a look in his eye that showed he was thinking along a similar line to me. Luffy picked up the bolder from before and blocked Kuro's claw and twisted it snapping five of his ten blades.

"How can you call yourself a pirate if you don't want to be known by your name?" Luffy berated the other man's philosophy

Kuro stood up. Saying he was going to kill everyone himself with no exceptions.

"I never had any plans to let you fools live anyway. I need to make sure everyone thinks Kuro is still dead." The man told the crew on the beach. He said they were nothing but pawns to be used by him.

Needless to say they were pretty upset at being told to die and being called pawns.

"It's almost sad" I said "you control hundreds of men but you still can't defeat Usopp."

"How ridiculous in what way am I inferior to him?" Kuro disappeared and began preparing to attack Luffy and me.

"You don't know what a true pirate really is" Luffy said.

"THERE!" I pointed to a spot on the ground and Luffy swung and backhanded Kuro.

"He saw through the silent step." The pirates were amazed that I had found Kuro during his maneuver.

"You've insulted me for the last time. I'll show you the terror of a real pirate." Kuro said with a disturbed look in his eye.

Kuro began swaying back and forth till he suddenly disappeared. His crew was in a state of shock. They began running in fear saying it wasn't safe.

Suddenly everything around us began getting clawed apart. People, rocks, the ship, everything was being assaulted. I felt scratches hit my legs. I saw Luffy get his face cut. Everything was being eviscerated. He was running around blindly slashing.

"Stop running and fight. Just what do you think your crew is?!" Luffy hollered.

Luffy and I were standing back to back waiting for our chance to attack when Luffy's side was slashed. For a split second I saw him.

_Now's our chance!_

I reached out and grabbed Kuro's coat and threw him to the ground "Gotcha."

Kuro wanted to know why we stopped him as we had left his crew in a half dead state.

"I will never become like you" Luffy told him wrapping his limbs around Kuro "Just try running now."

They enemy started yelling for me and Luffy to save them from Kuro. I grabbed Luffy's bug head and ran towards our foes. "You were told to keep your mouths shut worms. I'll torture you next if you don't keep quite."

I released Luffy's head and sent it flying at Kuro **"GUM-GUM Bell!"**

Luffy's head-butted Kuro knocking him out cold. "Just who are these two?"

"I am Steve and that is Luffy, remember those names because one day we will be kings of the pirates" I grabbed Kuro and threw him on the beach "Now get out of my sight trash!"

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. **


	14. Chapter 14: A Real Pirate Ship

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

Having defeated Kuro and protected Usopp's village Steve and Luffy go off to find their friends.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

The Pirates grabbed their captain and ran.

_It's done, good. I'm so tired._

I hit the ground with a painful thud, getting cut open that much really makes you tired. I looked over and saw that Nami had caught Luffy before he fell like I did.

_Why didn't she catch me?_

"You two fought hard, rest even you two can't stand after being cut that much." Nami said placing Luffy on the ground.

"I don't like them, their wrong." Luffy said

Nami looked confused

"I want meat."

"Shut up Luffy. Not now."

* * *

I while later Zoro and Usopp showed back up all dirty but clearly victorious.

"Thank you, without you guys we wouldn't have been able to protect the village." Usopp thanked us "On account of that I've come to a decision. Thank you for helping me." Usopp got up and walked away.

"I'm hungry" Luffy said again.

"Let's go eat then. You won't shut up about it till we go." I said straining to stand up.

* * *

After tending to our wounds we went to the bar to watch Luffy scarf down dozens of plates of food nearly chocking multiple times.

"If you done we should get going Luffy." I said.

We were getting up to leave when the bell rang to signify the entrance of someone.

"Good your still here." Kaya entered the bar coming right over to us.

We asked why she had come; she was supposed to be in bed. She explained that she was feeling better that she was never truly sick just depressed.

"I heard you need a ship." Kaya said.

"You'll give us a ship." Luffy excitedly ask.

"Really?" I added.

* * *

We followed Kaya down to the shore where we found another one of her butlers. As we got closer it came into view, a ship.

"It's beautiful" I was in awe a real ship for real pirates.

"It's a caravel." Nami said.

Luffy was just as excited as I was. The two of us were jumping up and down and looking over every inch of the ship.

"You're sure we can really have this?" I asked the butler

"Of course consider it our thanks for saving the village, I designed this ship myself and its name is the Going Merry."

_That's a great name._

He tried to explain how to control the ship but I told him just to tell Nami. While Kaya told me what she had stocked the ship with.

Screaming could be heard coming from the top of the hill. We all turned to see Usopp rolling down the hill.

"I can't stop!" He yelled rolling out of control right towards our new ship.

Luffy and Zoro stopped him with their feet. While Usopp composed himself the rest of us climbed aboard our new ship. Usopp talked to Kaya saying he was going off to become a pirate.

"Well I hope I'll see you guys again sometime." Usopp said

"Why?" Luffy asked him casually.

_Is he just going off on his own?_

"We're both going off to be pirates we might meet again on the seas" Usopp explained.

_He doesn't get it._

"What are you rambling about, just get on." I told him.

Luffy and I had discussed the idea of Usopp coming with us back at the bar.

* * *

_Flashback_

"Hey Luffy come with me for a sec I want to talk."

Luffy and I made our way outside behind the bar.

"It's about Usopp"

"What about him"

"What do you think about him coming with us?" I asked

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. Of course I want him to come"

"Well then next time we see him let's ask him okay."

_Flashback End_

* * *

Usopp looked confused "We're friends aren't we. Get on."

Usopp was in such a confused state. He didn't really think it was happening.

"Yeah!" He said jumping into the air "I'm the captain right." Usopp said climbing aboard.

"NO YOUR NOT!" Luffy and I yelled.

Nami gave us instructions on how to set the sails and pull up the anchor. Luffy helped Usopp pull his belongings onto the ship and we got ready to set sail.

"Bye I'll be back someday" Usopp waved as his home faded out into the distance.

We finally had a ship and another member. We almost set to go to the Grand Line.

* * *

Zoro came out from below deck with a barrel "Look what I found, there's a ton on booze down here."

"Oh we need to have a toast" Luffy said

We each grabbed a mug from the kitchen and poured a glass.

"To a new ship and a new member!" Luffy yelled

"CHEERS!" we slammed are glasses together and started the party to christen or new ship.

After a little party I remembered something important "We need a flag." I pointed out how bare our ship was.

Luffy grabbed some paint and some cloth and drew a very crude picture of a skull wearing a strawhat, or at least I think that's what it was supposed to be.

"No Luffy. Just No." I broke my friends pride in his symbol.

"Leave the drawing to me." Usopp said painting a new mark which looked more like him then Luffy.

Luffy and I beat him upside the head for making his own mark. Usopp drew another one much more in line with Luffy's original vision.

"I like it." "Draw another on the sail." Me and Luffy said respectively.

After an hour of climbing and painting Usopp succeeded in drawing the symbol on the sail.

"Looks perfect." I said

"Our ship's ready for action. The pirate ship The Going Merry." Luffy added.

* * *

I was having a conversation with Zoro about his past when there was a loud Boom.

"What the hell was that?" I said

_Don't tell me we hit something. We haven't even been sailing a day._

"I was testing the cannon but I can't get it to fire right." Luffy explained.

"Warn us next time." I yelled.

"Step aside amateur. Let me show you how it's done." Usopp said stepping up to the cannon.

Usopp calibrated the cannon and lit the fuse. The cannon fired and destroyed a nearby rock.

"You hit it on the first shot." Luffy said stars in his eyes looking at the broken rock "I've decided you'll be our sniper."

We went inside to eat when Luffy spoke up "There's one more thing we need before we go to the Grand Line"

"That would be?" I said I wasn't sure what we were missing.

"A position every pirate crew needs for a long voyage…. A Musician."

Everyone face palmed at Luffy's stupidity.

"No if anything we need a chef for this kitchen!" Nami said.

"GET OUT HERE PIRATES!" a crash could be heard from outside on the deck.

"What was that?" Usopp said cowering behind Zoro.

Luffy and I rushed outside to see what the problem was, finding a tan skinned man wearing sunglasses rampaging around on our ship.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" I yelled at the man

"Who am I" the man swung at me and Luffy "I should be asking who you are"

Luffy and I jumped over the sword but the ship was damaged as a result.

_Dammit we haven't even had this ship a week and it's already being destroyed._

"I've slain hundreds of filthy pirates but no-names like you think you can kill my partner"

_What's he talking about_

"I'm lost" Luffy said dodging another swing.

"We've got no idea what you're talking about" I jumped over the man's head and wrapped my whips around his throat to choke him out. "But how dare a filthy maggot like you WRECK MY SHIP!"

I threw the man against the wall and sat down to catch my breath.

"Just what was he talking about?" Luffy asked

"I don't know." I answered gasping for air.

The door to the kitchen opened and Zoro emerged "That you Johnny?"

It appeared this man and Zoro knew each other since they seemed to be friendly.

"Where's Yosaku he's always with you?" Zoro asked the man where someone else was.

The man with the glasses started to get all upset barely uttering out "He's sick."

* * *

The man brought his friend onboard and explained what had been wrong with him. His friend was in bad shape bleeding and missing teeth.

_Got no idea what wrong. Poor guys gonna die._

"Are you all idiots?" Nami yelled at us "go get the limes from the kitchen."

Luffy and Usopp ran into the kitchen to get away from Nami while she explained that the man had scurvy and needed to be treated.

_That reminds me we should look into getting a doctor to treat illnesses on this ship. Nami skills aren't really enough._

The sick man jumped up saying he was recharged and ready for action dancing around with his partner.

"I am Johnny" the tan man said

"And I am Yosaku" the other said introducing himself.

The newly revived man passed out again after a short conversation with Zoro and was told to go rest.

"See that's why you need to be wary of the dangers on the ocean" Nami explained "If he hadn't come across us he would have died."

"What we need is someone who can look after how we eat. We need a sea cook." Usopp said.

"Then let's go look for a cook we need to eat good food!" Luffy exclaimed

"It's always about food with you." I laughed "Alright then a cook it is but we don't even know where to start looking for one."

"Hey bro" Johnny yelled to Zoro

"If you're looking for a chef I know just the place." Johnny went on to explain about a restaurant that toured the seas cooking with the highest class chefs "The name of the place is The Sea Restaurant Baratie"

Johnny explained to Nami how to get there and we set off towards our next destination.

"Oh hey big bro" I heard Johnny call Zoro over "I've heard that the "Hawk Eyed Man" has been spotted around there."

_Oh crap. This is bad I don't wanna see him. Why is he here he's supposed to be on the Grand Line._

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading feedback is appreciated.**


	15. Chapter 15: Sanji

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

After saving Usopp's village the crew is rewarded with a ship, The Going Merry. After meeting Zoro's old friends Johnny and Yosaku the gang makes their way to The Sea Restaurant Baratie.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We followed Johnny's directions for two day before the moving restaurant finally came into view.

"What a huge fish!" Luffy and Usopp were in awe at the sight of the restaurant.

The place was shaped like a large fish complete with face and all "The place certainly has a unique aesthetic." I said.

"Uh guys it's the marines." Usopp pointed out the ship pulling up alongside us.

"Where did they come from?" Luffy asked

"Don't know, don't care. Just hope they don't attack us." I stated calmly.

A man with pink hair and a pair of knuckle-dusters came out of the cabin and looked at us.

"I am marine lieutenant "Iron fist" Fullbody. Who's the captain of this ship?"

"We are" Luffy and I stepped forward. Luffy told the man that we had just made out flag a few days ago.

Fullbody then got into an argument with Johnny and Yosaku, calling them smalltime and assuming we had captured them. The two attempted to fight the man over the insult but got their asses handed to them by the marine.

Fullbody said he was letting us off because he only came this way to eat at the restaurant not to fight pirates.

"Oh how generous of you." I sarcastically remarked.

"What'd you just say punk? Keep your mouth shut." Fullbody went back inside but not without telling his men to sink our ship saying he wouldn't let someone who insulted him get away unscathed.

_Whatever._

"Luffy make sure that thing doesn't hit us alright" I said walking back towards the main part of the deck. When I heard the splintering of wood I assumed Luffy had sunk the marines.

Once I got there I found Nami on the ground looking at the wanted poster Johnny and Yosaku had brought with them. She was holding one and she looked upset. The poster was for a pirate by the name of Arlong.

_What the hell does she want with a guy like that?_

"Is something wrong Nami?" I asked concerned.

"Huh oh it's nothing" she said putting the poster down

"YOU DUMBASS" I heard everyone one the upper deck yell.

"What did that idiot do this time?"

I ran up to the front of the ship to find Luffy on the ground and smoke coming from a hole in the roof of the restaurant.

_Moron._

"I…I have no words Luffy." I said

"Sorry" Luffy said shrugging his shoulders.

"That's all you have to say for yourself!" I yelled as I punched him in the head "How are we supposed to convince a cook to come with us when you just bombed the place he works!"

"I guess I should go apologize" Luffy said getting off the ground.

"Lot of good that'll do" Zoro said.

"Just go do something Luffy." I said walking away again "Don't screw up."

Luffy catapulted himself over to the restaurant to deliver an apology.

* * *

The rest of us sat around for a while waiting for Luffy to come back. Yosaku was helping Johnny repair the damage he had done to the ship a few days ago. The rest of us were just chatting.

"You don't think they'll make him work for like a month to pay off the damage, do you?" Zoro asked.

"They better not I don't want to wait that long to start heading for the Grand Line." I answered.

Nami still looked a little distant but I decided not to press her. If it was personal she'd tell us when she was ready.

"Let's go get something to eat while we wait" Usopp suggested "No point in just sitting around."

"Alright seems like a good idea I'm hungry let's go." I stood up and started to make my way over to the restaurant with the others close by.

We made our way around the outside of the restaurant to the front door. There was a lot of noise coming from inside the building I was just hoping it wasn't from Luffy. We opened the door to an interesting sight. The Marine from earlier was on the ground bloody and beaten Luffy was being kicked by a man with a peg-leg and another man was being thrown through a table.

"What the hell!" all four of us yelled at the same time.

_What the hell did you do Luffy?_

"Just ignore it. Act like you've never seen that idiot before in your life" I said straining to keep my composure.

The four of us made our way to a table to eat. We ordered our meals and sat and talked. There was a man with blonde hair walking around the dining room flirting with the women.

_What a perv, creeping on all these girls._

I noticed Luffy had come out of the dining room and was making his way over to our table.

We joked with Luffy about how he had to work for a year to pay off the damage to the restaurant.

"You won't mind if I go solo for a while do you?" I asked

"I can't believe you would say that. And I can't believe you would eat all this food without me." Luffy said getting upset.

"Well I'm an independent man I can do whatever I want." I saw Luffy being the disgusting weirdo he is and put his boogers into my water.

"Yeah the food is delicious" I raised my glass "So good you should have it yourself."

I shoved the water down Luffy's throat "I can't believe you would do something so disgusting in a public place you ass."

He was choking on the water and our friends were laughing. The other customers were repulsed. The blonde waiter with a weird eyebrow came over and started to hit on Nami, saying that something here was preventing him from being a pirate and following her to the ends of the earth or something like that.

_Did Luffy ask this guy to be our cook?_

He kept on rambling, till a man I assumed was his boss told him he should go with us and be a pirate. The two got into a fight when our waiter, who I now knew was called Sanji, said he wasn't leaving.

They knocked over are table but luckily we were able to save the food from hitting the floor. While those two were having a screaming match in the middle of the restaurant I went to talk to Luffy.

"Is that blonde guy our cook?"

"You bet! He's perfect his food is amazing!" Luffy kept singing the man's praises

The head chef walked away leaving Sanji to pick himself up off the floor.

"See he gave you permission now you can be a pirate!" Luffy told the man not giving him any choice.

"I told you I won't be a pirate!" The blonde man yelled back.

Then as if he hadn't just had an argument with Luffy went back to hitting on Nami, offering her free food and paying for her portion of the bill.

"You guys still have to pay though." He addressed us.

Usopp got into an argument with the man over the fact he was favoring Nami and not us.

"It's not worth it Usopp just let it go." I told him but he kept arguing about not eating mushrooms or something.

After we finished eating and paying for our meal the others went back to the ship but I stayed to talk to Luffy.

"Listen" I told my short friend "We can't afford to wait a year for you to work off your debt so you've got a week if you don't get out of this mess by then I'll drag you out on my own."

"Fine one week I understand" Luffy said getting serious.

* * *

Two days had passed and Luffy was still stuck working in the restaurant. I was beginning to lose patience but I had given him a week and I would wait that long.

"Uh Steve." I heard Usopp yell.

"What." A shadow was suddenly cast over our ship.

"Look at the size of that thing!" I looked behind us to see a giant galleon "This is bad we need to go!" Usopp kept yelling

"Not without Luffy. Let's go over there and see what he's doing maybe the cooks know what's up.

"There's no reason to panic" Zoro said "Look that ships barely floating, it's a wreck."

I looked over and saw that the giant ship was covered in broken boards and busted up metal.

"Regardless we should go check up on Luffy. Nami you watch the ship with Johnny and Yosaku." I said as I dragged Usopp into the restaurant with Zoro not far behind.

* * *

When we entered the restaurant from the back we had quite a sight all the customers were gone and the cooks were out cold on the floor.

Luffy was staring down a man in a fur coat "I'm the one who will be king of the pirates. I won't stand down now"

"Well said Luffy but you forgot the plural again." I said.

"Are you planning to fight?" Usopp asked shaking.

"You need a hand?" Zoro asked.

"No I'm fine you guys just relax." Luffy told us.

"Is that your crew just three guys?" The man Luffy was arguing with laughed.

Luffy told the man he had two more, Nami and the chef. The cook of course said he wasn't part of the crew but I knew he wasn't going to get out of Luffy's grasp.

The man I heard one of the cooks refer to as Krieg said that we were crazy to go to the Grand Line with just six people.

"My fleet of fifty ships was destroyed in just a week. Don't screw with me. Going to the Grand Line with six people. HA!" Krieg said.

Krieg grabbed a bag a told the cooks they had one hour to leave if they didn't want to die.

The other cooks began to berate Sanji for something, but their boss shut them up.

All the cooks decided to stay and fight to protect the restaurant. The man Krieg had thrown into the wall called them all crazy.

Luffy walked over to me "He's pretty cool huh."

"Yeah I guess he'll be an interesting addition." I responded.

"Gin you said you've been to the Grand Line right? What's it like?" Luffy asked.

The man named Gin began to mumble about his time on the Grand Line. Then he said it, that one man destroyed the entire fleet.

_It had to be it was him!_

Everyone else in the room was taken aback by Gin's account of his time on the Grand Line. I was staying as calm as I could.

"It was him wasn't it, The Hawk-Eyed Man?" I asked "You said he had piercing yellow eyes, even without knowing that I know he's the only one who could have destroyed your whole fleet."

"Zoro that's the guy you're looking for right?" I heard Luffy ask. Zoro replied with a quick yes.

"I just don't get it why did he destroy their fleet?" Usopp asked.

"Did you guys piss him off?" Sanji added

Gin didn't know he said he just attacked.

"You probably woke him up from a nap. You poor fools." I told the man why his fleet had been destroyed.

_Complete destruction over something so trivial, that's just like him._

"DON'T BULLSHIT ME!" Gin yelled "To destroy a fleet over something so petty."

The head chef defended me saying I was just providing an example. "But there is one thing I don't get kid." The man turned to me "How do you know so much about this man."

"Yeah I'm curious as well." Zoro said.

_Crap. The jigs up I guess I'll have to tell them now._

"I guess I can't hide it anymore. The reason I know so much about that man is because "The Hawk-Eyed Man" Dracule Mihawk is my uncle." Most of the room gasped at the revelation.

"That's why I want you to stay away from him Zoro, he will kill you." I turned my face away. I didn't want to look at Zoro I could feel his anger from here.

Luffy broke the silence "I didn't even know that."

_Just shut up you idiot._

I was embarrassed I could feel everyone looking at me staring into my soul. Then Zoro finally spoke.

"Why?"

I finally mustered up the courage to look at him.

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!" he screamed.

"I…"

"ANSWER ME!"

I didn't know how to answer him

"Sorry, I should have told you. But I was worried that you wouldn't take it too well if you found out I was related to the man you wanted to kill."

"Sorry. That's all you have to say." I could feel his fury.

"What do you want me to say. "Sure Zoro what a great goal to become the greatest swordsman, just make sure you kill my uncle to get there."

"No! But I would have been a good idea to tell me that before I joined you. You knew my goal when you asked me to be a pirate. You could have said no."

"I'm sorry alright, but I won't apologize for being related to the man and I won't stand by if you try a kill him." I said.

The two of us were having a personal argument in front of a large crowd of people.

"I think you should go Steve. Go get some air." Luffy told me.

"Whatever. I'm going back to the ship." As I walked out my eyes met Zoro's. I kept walking till I was outside

_What the hell are we even fighting about? The fate of a man I've only met a few times? Why should I care if Zoro kills him? Why do I care if Zoro gets hurt fighting him. Why does he care that I didn't tell him he would have come with us regardless, he still would have wanted to fight Mihawk. Is he angry over the fact I didn't tell him? No that's not it at all._

Realization hit me "He's angry over the promise."

_He said that if he died Luffy or I would have to take up his ambition. He's upset because he doesn't want me to have to fight someone important to me._

"Bastard."

I got to the place the ship was supposed to be docked but it was gone.

_Where the hell is the Merry?_

I saw two bodies floating in the water.

_Johnny, Yosaku!_

I pulled the two men out of the water "You two get up! Where the hell is my ship?"

Johnny answered first "She took it"

"What?"

Yosaku finished "Nami she took the Going Merry she stole your ship."

_No way!_

"Dammit I have to find Luffy!"

I ran back around the restaurant and when I got to the front I saw it happen. The entire galleon was suddenly cut in two.

_NO!_

In the distance I could see them. The flames of his ship. The coffin floating on the sea.

_He's here. Uncle Hawkeye._

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	16. Chapter 16: Hawk-eye Mihawk

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

Arriving at The Sea Restaurant Baratie Luffy and Steve make a decision on who will be the chef on their ship. After Luffy gets stuck working on the ship Don Krieg, a pirate with a huge fleet attacks the restaurant. Finding out that Krieg's fleet was destroyed by one man; Steve decides to revel his relationship with the world's greatest swordsman, Hawk-eye Mihawk, angering Zoro. The two have an argument but when Steve returns to the ship to cool off he finds that Nami has stolen The Going Merry. Steve's day is further ruined by the arrival of his uncle Mihawk

* * *

**Steve's POV**

_Why is he here?_

I didn't know what was happening anymore. Everything was falling apart, Nami stole the ship, who knows what mine and Zoro's relationship is now, and now Uncle Mihawk shows up. This day is the worst.

_First I have to get to Luffy and tell him about Nami._

I ran back into the restaurant but everyone had gone outside. I eventually found Luffy and the others outside freaking out. I saw Yosaku and Johnny were with them so I guess they heard about Nami.

"Luffy we have a problem!" I yelled getting his attention "Nami stole the Merry!"

"I know I see it." He pointed to the horizon where the ship could still be seen.

"Johnny where's your ship" I asked

_Maybe I can get the others out of here before he shows up._

He told me it was tied to the restaurant and we were allowed to use it.

"Zoro, Usopp lets go." I heard the two begrudgingly follow me.

"Luffy are you coming with us?" Usopp asked

"No I still haven't paid off the restaurant." He explained.

"Fine but be careful everything is turning bad real fast, and remember you only have a few days to get out of working here." I told Luffy

"IT"S HIM! THE ONE WHO DESTOYED THE FLEET!"

_No! I wasn't fast enough._

"It can't be… that's him." Zoro looked shaken by the sight of Uncle.

"Please don't…" I tried to stop Zoro but he was in such a place that I don't think he heard me.

He just started walking over to Krieg's galleon. I saw someone from Krieg's crew shoot at Mihawk but he just deflected the bullets like nothing. The men looked terrified at how he had avoided the bullets.

"He deflected the bullets with his sword; I've never seen such graceful swordplay." I turned quickly and saw that Zoro had made his way over to the other ship and was staring down the world's greatest swordsman.

"Are you the one who cut this ship?" Zoro asked

"Indeed" Was what he got for an answer.

"You really are the strongest; I set sail to meet you." Zoro said

"What are you aiming for?" Uncle Mihawk asked him.

"To be the world's greatest. You said you had some free time let's fight." Zoro challenged him to a duel I knew he couldn't win.

"You damn fool." I whispered.

The rest of us stood there watching the two exchange words and ready for a duel. Uncle pulled off his necklace and took the top off to reveal a knife.

"What are you going to do with that?" Zoro didn't understand that he was out of his league.

I wanted to tell him to get out while he still could but no matter how hard I tried words wouldn't come out.

"You wouldn't use cannon to kill a fly, would you? Unfortunately this is the smallest blade I carry."

_Stop playing with your food just get it over with._

Zoro charged "**ONI GIRI!" **

Zoro was stopped dead in his tracks, all his swords blocked in one place by the tiny knife. Zoro broke free and slashed wildly but each swing was easily parried.

Zoro was becoming frustrated blindly attacking with no clear goal.

_He really thought he was on Mihawk's level._

Uncle Mihawk kept playing with Zoro, blocking every blow, calling him a weakling.

"No one calls our bro a weakling!" Johnny and Yosaku tried to go over and help Zoro but I stopped them.

"Stay out of it!"

Then it happened.

Zoro charged forward and was stabbed with the knife.

"Why won't you step back?"

"I'm not really sure. I just know if I stepped back it be trampling on the promises I've made. I rather die than be defeated." Zoro said laying out his reasons for enduring the pain.

"Speak. What is your name?"

"Roronoa Zoro"

Uncle put his knife away and took out his black blade.

_Why there's no need for that!_

"I will remember your name. As a sign of respect I will end this with my black sword."

The two men readied their swords and charged

"**THREE SWORD STYLE: THREE THOUSAND WORLDS!"**

Zoro tried but all but one of his swords was shattered by Mihawk's attack. Zoro put his sword away stood up and turned around to face Mihawk.

"Scars on the back are a swordsman's shame."

"Splendid" Was all Uncle Mihawk said before he cut him open.

There was blood everywhere Zoro had a huge wound on his chest from the attack. He fell back and dropped into the sea.

I could hear everyone else screaming around my but I still couldn't comprehend the situation.

_You idiot, why? I told you wouldn't win._

Then my mouth finally opened, at I let out a scream I didn't even know I was capable of.

"DAMMIT!" I shot my whip over to the other ship to pull myself over and confront my relative for his actions.

_Sure Zoro challenged him but there was no need to take it that far._

"I thought I saw you" I heard Uncle Mihawk say as I got closer "Is that man your friend?"

"SCREW YOU!" I swung at him with my fist but missed. I could feel the tears on my face.

"Relax Steve he won't die."

"What?"

"That wound won't kill him, but don't think I spared him because he's your friend." He looked at me sternly.

"I haven't seen you or Rose in many years, you certainly got taller."

"Cut the small talk Uncle I don't have time for it. You had no reason to do that, why use such extreme methods when Zoro never stood a chance."

"How do you think he would feel if he was pitied after losing?"

_Pity?_

"You certainly have made some interesting friends, your parents would be proud."

"Do you know where they are, Mom and Dad?"

"Of course they're on the Grand Line. I actually came from visiting your sister recently. I'm sure your path and hers will cross soon."

He stopped talking to me and turned to face the boat Zoro had been pulled into "Listen. It is far too early for you to die. Go out and learn, train and become strong, then you may return and face me Roronoa! But until then I will wait at the top, no matter how long it takes. Surpass me ZORO!"

I heard most of the crowd gasp at how the great Hawk-eye had made such a promise.

"Steve, what is your goal?" he said turning back to me.

"To become king of the pirates with my best friend, Luffy."

"Quite a tough path indeed even tougher than your friend's. You know that means you will have to surpass your parents correct?"

"Of course I don't care" I smirked "I'll do it anyway."

"Usopp get ready we have to go after Nami, how's Zoro?"

"Barely breathing but he's alive." Usopp answered.

Just then Zoro's arm shot up sword in hand.

_What the_!

"Steve can you hear me. I'm sorry"

_Sorry?_

"I'm sorry I made you worry, I'm sorry I got so angry, and I'm sorry I lost. If I don't become the world's greatest I'd only embarrass you and Luffy."

_You don't need to apologize._

"I should be the one apologizing; I should have told you in the first place and not have tried to hide it. I broke our trust; I'm the one who's sorry." I yelled back.

"You were both wrong ok, but bro you need to stop talking." Yosaku pleaded with Zoro.

"**I SWEAR!" ** He yelled out **"UNTIL I BEAT HIM I WONT EVER LOSE AGAIN! IS THAT OKAY KING OF THE PIRATES?!"**

I felt an odd sense of pride "THAT'S JUST FINE!"

"I hope to see you again soon, you certainly have interesting friends. Goodbye Steve." Uncle Mihawk turned to walk away before Krieg interrupted wanting to know if Uncle was here for him. He had the audacity to shoot at him when he didn't like his answer.

"Farwell" Was all Uncle said before he swung his sword and cut the ocean itself.

I took the opportunity to swim over to the boat with Usopp and Zoro.

"Steve! Go on without me I'll catch up." Luffy yelled as the restaurant rocked in the waves.

"Alright I'll defiantly bring Nami back! You just make sure you get that cook!"

I gave Luffy one last wave and screamed "Once we have those six people we'll head for the Grand Line!"

Luffy's "Alright!" was almost lost in the waves but I heard him.

_It's almost time. Our destination is just a little further away._

"Let's go guys. Johnny, you and Yosaku stabilize Zoro. Usopp make sure we don't lose sight of The Merry."

_We're coming for you Nami. I will bring you back. I saw that look on your face when you picked up that poster for Arlong. If he's the problem we'll take him out._

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for Reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	17. Chapter 17: Our Friend Nami

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attack**

* * *

**NO POV**

After Zoro's defeat at the hands of Steve's Uncle, Hawk-Eye Mihawk, Steve takes Usopp and Zoro to go after Nami, who has stolen the Going Merry.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

After we discussed where Nami was going we sent Yosaku back to direct Luffy to us while the rest of us kept going towards Nami's destination. She was headed to an island deep in the territory of the pirate "Saw-Tooth" Arlong.

Zoro had finally managed to wake up. He still needed to see a professional doctor.

"Are you sure we should be wasting our time with Nami?" Zoro asked

"We have to Luffy won't take anybody else. We got no choice, besides you didn't see the look on her face something is wrong here and I want to know what."

"I think we're here." Usopp quivered behind the railing of the boat.

"This is it." Johnny told him.

_I'm glad we have someone here who knows what they're doing._

Usopp suggested we find the ship and start are search there but Zoro had I had other ideas.

"Let's just cut are way in"

"I like the front door approach we can find Nami and make her talk."

Usopp and Johnny weren't too thrilled with our gung-ho approach.

"Untie us this instant Usopp! How dare you do this to your captain." There Zoro and I were tied together in against the boat.

Usopp kept rambling off about how he was a pirate of great adventure or something, until he spotted some fishmen giving him the stink eye. They jumped into the water after our boat only terrifying Usopp and Johnny more.

"What should we do Usopp?" Johnny asked him

"Abandon ship!" Usopp said as he and Johnny jumped into the water to escape the incoming fishmen.

"Get back here and free us" Zoro screamed after them but they didn't listen.

The fishmen boarded the boat and decide to take us back to Arlong.

At least they were kind enough to tie Zoro and I up separately.

* * *

The fishmen pulled our boat into a place called Arlong Park.

"What the hell are these filthy humans doing here?" Asked a Fishman with a long nose sitting in a chair.

"Arlong sir we found them drifting outside, they look suspicions."

_So this is Arlong?_

"What were you doing out there?" Arlong said sneering at us.

"We're looking for someone fish-face." I told him intentionally trying to test his patience.

He went on some long rant about how superior fishmen were to humans.

The only person who was able to shut him up was Nami "I'm sick of your rambling"

"Nami. Why are you so friendly with this guy?" Zoro asked.

"I work for Arlong. You guys were just another mark. I didn't really think you would follow me this far."

"So this is your true self?" I spoke up "Luffy will be so disappointed."

The look on Nami's face changed to one of sadness.

_She feels bad about betraying Luffy._

"Nami would do anything for money even betray her family. You all got fooled."

Nami's face looked even more upset when Arlong talked.

_What the hell's going on between these two?_

"I see" Zoro started "well I always pegged her as heartless. From the beginning I had a feeling you were a good-for-nothing freeloader."

Nami started to defend her actions but I needed to test a theory.

I leaned over to Zoro "I want you to jump in the water."

"What?"

"Captains orders just do it" Zoro begrudgingly flipped back and sank into the water.

_Will she save him, or let him die?_

Sure enough she did just what I expected and dove in after Zoro. She surfaced pulling Zoro onto dry land while all the fishmen tried to figure out why she had helped Zoro.

"What are you playing at?" She turned to me.

"Someone like you, some pathetic small-time thief, shouldn't try actin' tough, it's disgusting." is told her.

"Be faster next time I thought I was gonna die." Zoro angrily said to Nami.

Nami told the fishmen to lock us up, that she would deal with us later.

"Arlong there's been another unknown human sighted in the village. This one has a long nose."

_Dammit Usopp, just be careful._

They threw Zoro and I into a back room and then I heard the pirates go off to find Usopp.

* * *

Zoro and I had been sitting around for a while tied up in the small room when the door opened.

"Look who it is." Zoro sarcastically remarked.

Nami threw Zoro's swords and my whips on the ground, untied us and said "Just leave. Before they get back."

"Nami wait!" I caught her attention "If you need help with something, please just ask."

"Just leave. Stay out of my life." With that she went back outside.

Zoro and I made our way outside only to find the park still riddled with fishmen.

"Well?"

"Front door approach works here" I said.

Zoro and I made quick work of our unsuspecting prey. Whatever he didn't cut I beat into submission.

_Uncle was right he and I do work well together._

Zoro took a seat in Arlong's chair while I wandered around the park looking for anything.

"What do you wanna do?" he asked me

"Promised Luffy I'd bring her back so that's what I'm gonna do. We're gonna end up involved in something we don't wanna but that's the price we'll have to pay to help our friend."

"This is one complicated mess."

"Yeah it is" I responded.

An odd noise came from the gate out of the park. Zoro and I got up to investigate the noise only to find an octopus fishing outside.

"You the one making that racket?" Zoro asked the fishman.

"Who are you two? Me? Oh I'm Hatchan or Hachi for short. Are you two guests of Arlong?"

"You could call us that." I said

"Arlong's not here right now. He went to catch a long nosed intruder. I can take you to him if you like, just hop in my pot and I'll give you a ride."

_Usopp. We may as well go rescue him while we have free time._

"Come one let's go see Arlong" I said hopping into the jar with Zoro not far behind.

* * *

It didn't take us long to reach the village thanks to a ride from our octopus "friend".

"We're here. Hope you find Arlong."

"Thank you for the ride." Zoro and I said walking into town.

_What an odd fishman._

"Arlong's here somewhere." Zoro warned.

"Yeah but let's focus on finding Usopp first, unlike you and I he can't really fend for himself." I started looking for Usopp in all his usual places behind trees, in barrels, under a rock.

We asked around town for anyone who had seen our long-nosed companion.

"Are you looking for that kid with the slingshot." A random villager said approaching us.

"That's him. Have you seen him?" Zoro asked the man

"I just saw him get taken inside Arlong Park."

_Dammit!_

"That idiot's gonna get killed we gotta hurry." I said running with Zoro not to far behind.

Zoro and I kept going back towards Arlong Park as fast as we could. It didn't help neither of us knew how to get back.

"Maybe hitching that ride was a bad idea now we don't know how to get back." Zoro explained.

Zoro and I kept running when we heard the sound of an entire forest being torn down.

"What the…" Zoro mumbled

"Focus if we don't get there soon Usopp will die."

That's when a boat burst through the canopy. A boat with three passengers.

"Hi!"

"What the hell do you mean?!"

The boat crashed into the trees finally slowing to a stop.

"DAMMIT LUFFY!"

"You find Nami yet? And where's Usopp?" Luffy asked dodging my tirade.

_Crap Usopp_

Zoro Explained what had happened to Usopp and that we needed to hurry.

"YOUR TO LATE!" a voice yelled "He's already been killed."

_WHAT?!_

Johnny came out from the trees crying "Usopp *sniff* NAMI MURDERED HIM!"

_No._

We were all pretty shocked by the revelation that Nami had killed our friend especially Luffy.

"SHUT UP! THERES NO WAY NAMI WOULD KILL USOPP! WE"RE FRIENDS SHE WOULDN'T DO THAT!"

"Luffy! Relax Johnny is only telling us what he saw. There's no reason to be angry with him." I tried to calm Luffy down but he had no desire to take a breath.

"Why did you come here." We turned around to find Nami had come out of the shadows to speak to us.

"Because your part of our crew. We came to get you." Luffy explained like it was no big deal.

The blonde guy from the boat with Luffy started jumping up and down asking if Nami remembered him.

_Oh Luffy brought the cook._

He and Zoro got into a fight about something but I just ignored them.

"I saw her stab Usopp. She's a cold blooded witch." Johnny said sticking to his story.

"So what?" Nami rudely replied "Just leave so you don't end up like him. After that stunt Steve and Zoro pulled Arlong wants you both dead. I don't care how strong you think you are your no match for him."

"I don't care where is Usopp?" Zoro asked.

"The bottom of the sea." When Nami said that it set Zoro off. He tried to swing at her but had to dodge a kick from Sanji first.

The two once again got into an argument "Will you to try and take this a little seriously please!" I yelled.

"If you want your ship back you can have it. Go find yourselves a new navigator. I don't care just get off my island."

Luffy fell to the ground "I'm tired."

"This isn't the time to be taking a nap Luffy." I tried to get him to sit up but he kept falling back.

"I'm not leaving without Nami but I really don't care what's going on around here so I'll just take a nap." He said explaining why he was laying on the ground.

"Do whatever the hell you want! Die for all I care!" Nami said running away.

Johnny and Yosaku took the opportunity they had to leave saying they had to get back to their day jobs but wished us luck in whatever we chose to do.

* * *

The guys and I sat around while Luffy took his nap when Sanji finally decided to talk to me "Hey other captain. Do you think Nami killed the long nose?"

"Doubt it, but after I told her that her small time act was disgusting maybe she grew a pair and actually stepped up."

Apparently Sanji didn't like my answer "Nami body is not small time!" he threw a kick at me which I went to block with my elbow only something else blocked our attacks

"Usopp!" "He's alive"

"Maybe not after what you two just did to the poor guy" Zoro said making me feel embarrassed about how I acted.

Apparently hearing Usopp's voice was enough to wake Luffy

"Good to see you're not dead." I told him as Luffy kept mumbling about Johnny lying to him.

"I should be." He said "If it hadn't been for Nami I'm not sure what would have happened."

He kept on explaining what had happened to him and Nami "There has to be some reason she's working with Arlong."

"I was thinking the same thing" I told him.

"It doesn't matter" a blue haired women said walking up to us "No matter what you do you won't be able to stop Arlong's rule of this island."

"Who are you?" Zoro asked the women.

"This is Nami's sister Nojiko" Usopp explained that he had met her earlier.

"I'll tell you how things got this bad but in exchange you must leave this island." She started bargaining with us.

_Fat chance Luffy won't leave without Nami._

"I'm not interested" Luffy said "I'm gonna take a walk."

Usopp wasn't too happy about Luffy not staying.

"It's fine let him go we'll listen" I said calming him down "I want to fill in the missing pieces of my idea about what's happening here.

"It all started eight years ago…" Nojiko began.

* * *

We listened to Nojiko's story until the end "You see since that day eight years ago Nami has worked for Arlong never asking for help so that no one is killed by Arlong, like our mother was."

After the story Usopp and Sanji were raring to go help Nami despite Nojiko's pleas for them not to because it would put Nami's hard work in jeopardy.

Nojiko walked away "I have things to do but please just leave Nami alone."

As soon as she was out of earshot Sanji spoke "So are we sitting this one out?"

"Hell no! Our friend needs our help. What kind of people would we be if we turned our backs on a friend? A real man stands up for the people he cares about. Ain't that right Usopp."

"Yes."

"Well let's get going" I said waking Zoro "we'll need to meet up with Luffy.

I didn't take us long to get to the village but when we got there an angry mob had formed to go fight Arlong. I saw Luffy sitting on a bench over across the street.

"You all wait here." I instructed as I made my way over to Luffy.

"What's up?" I said as I sat next to Luffy.

"Nothing." He said swinging his legs back and fourth.

"You ready to kick fishman tail?"

"Hell yes." Luffy calmly responded.

By this point the mob had run off leaving Nami alone in the street.

"Let's get moving" Luffy stood up and I followed behind him.

Once we got to Nami she was in a sorry state, she looked defeated. She had given it everything she had and even that wasn't enough. She picked up a knife that was lying on the ground.

_Don't do anything stupid Nami!_

She drove the knife into her shoulder where her Tattoo was. With every plunge of the blade she yelled out his name "ARLONG!"

Luffy grabbed her hand to stop her from harming herself anymore.

"Luffy. Steve."

She threw dirt at us "Didn't I tell you two to leave!"

"Yes you did." We both answered.

"But we can't leave without you Nami." I told her "We won't leave without our friend."

That was all it took to break the final wall holding Nami back. She broke down crying.

"Help me."

I was barely audible but we heard it. Luffy took his hat off and placed it on Nami's head.

_He never lets anyone where that hat. Not even me._

"OF COURSE I WILL!" Luffy yelled out into the sky

"Without a doubt Nami, you can always ask us." I said giving her a reassuring smile.

Luffy and I turned and began walking past our friends.

"Let's go."

"Right!"

The five of us made our way to Arlong Park with one goal.

Free our friend.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	18. Chapter 18: Fifteen Minutes

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

Having promised to find Nami Steve took Zoro, Usopp, and Johnny to follow Nami. After arriving on Nami's home island Steve and Zoro are taken captive by the Fishmen Pirates, a group Nami is a member of. After meeting up with Luffy, Yosaku and new arrival Sanji the crew learns about Nami's past and the hardships she and her village have faced under the rule of Arlong. Vowing to help Nami, Steve and Luffy take their allies to Arlong Park to fight the Fishmen.\

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We had barely left town when Luffy started to get all shaky. He was ready to fight and I didn't want to hold him back.

"Just go!"

"YEAH!" He ran off towards the park in the blink of an eye.

"Was it smart to let him off his leash like that?" Zoro asked

"It'll be fine we just need to pick up our pace so we can catch up" I said starting to walk a little faster than I had been.

We got to the Park just in time to see Luffy slug Arlong and enrage the other fishmen. The cook ran forward and literally kicked ass.

"Don't go running on ahead like that." Sanji yelled I walked up to Luffy

"It's fine I won't lose"

"I wasn't worried you'd lose. I was worried you'd take all the fun. The rest of us would like a turn to." I told him smirking.

"You can have my turn Luffy." Usopp said trembling.

"What a brave warrior." Zoro sarcastically remarked.

The fishmen weren't too happy to see me and Zoro and were surprised Usopp was even alive.

"So you five human pests came here for Nami. What can just five humans do against the might of a single fishman?!" Arlong yelled.

Mine and Zoro's octopus friend blew his horn again and something began rising out of the water. Usopp kept screaming about a monster that destroyed a whole village.

_Is he talking about that thing coming out of the water? Or is he talking about himself trying to lie to the fishmen._

"Come Out! Mohmoo!"

A giant sea cow with a bump on its head rose out of the water. For some reason the second Luffy and Sanji looked at it the thing turned around to leave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Arlong asked the creature "If you going to run I won't stop you."

The monster turned back around and came right at us.

"We're gonna DIE!" Usopp kept screaming.

"Would you shut up?!" We all yelled back as the fishmen came to fight us at the same time.

"Leave this to me." Luffy shoved both his feet into the ground and spun his body around.

"What's he doing?" Sanji mused out load.

"I'm not sure but I know I don't like it." I said holding in my anger.

Luffy grabbed the horns of the monster.

"I think we need to move!" Sanji yelled

"What's he thinking?" Zoro asked as we ducked for cover.

"Hell if I know." I said diving behind a wall.

Luffy unspooled himself and swung around still holding onto the monster **"Gum-Gum Pinwheel!" **

Hordes of the fishmen were sent flying with the monster as Luffy spun around.

"I'm not here for grunts! I WANT YOU!" He pointed at Arlong.

"What the Hell were you thinking? Oh wait you weren't!" I started laying into my friend "What a stupid idea, you almost killed us! You aren't allowed to make up new techniques on your own anymore! Clear everything with me!"

Sanji and Usopp were also harassing Luffy for his stupidity.

"Hey the octopus is doing something." Zoro pointed out getting our attention.

"Octopus is best served boiled with salt."

"Guys I got a small problem."

"Oh when we finish here you gotta make calamari." I begged

"That's squid. But whatever" Sanji shrugged

"**Hachi Ink-Jet!" **A stream of black goo was shot us forcing us to dodge, something which Luffy didn't do.

"Why didn't you dodge dumbass?" I yelled at Luffy

The octopus appeared before Luffy carrying a huge bolder he was going to use to smash him.

"Yeah I can't see or move." Luffy finally admitted to having a problem.

_I'm gonna kill him._

"God dammit." "What?" "You put yourself in this position."

Hatchan slammed the rock down onto Luffy crushing him.

"Luffy!"

"Relax"

"Yay Sanji!" the voice of the friend I thought was dead yelled.

"I chose a real idiot's crew to join. But it's better than being in a crew that would harm a lady." Sanji said both complimenting and insulting Luffy.

_At least I hope he's only calling Luffy an idiot. I think?_

Usopp got to work trying to free Luffy from his cement boots while Zoro, Sanji and I dealt with the fishmen. The octopus tried to put a stop to Usopp's attempt to free Luffy.

"There busy why don't you play with me?" Zoro said putting a sword to his throat and picking a fight.

I don't know what Usopp was thinking but he let Luffy go and he slammed into the fishman with the big lips.

"My bad… AGGHHHH" Usopp ran off with the fishman following him.

Big lips stopped to harass the villagers but Usopp hit him with a fireball "Don't forget you're fighting me!" Usopp ran off again.

Arlong stood up and began walking towards Luffy. His subordinates told him not to fight that they could take care of us.

"I'm not going to fight…"

Luffy threw a punch but it missed. Arlong shoved his hands into the ground and pulled up a slab of concrete holding Luffy.

"They say Devil Fruit users can't swim" _He wouldn't _"But in this situation no one can swim" He threw Luffy into the sea where he sank like a rock.

"Luffy!"

"I'm going in after him" Sanji was already taking off his shoes.

"No! Sanji wait, if you jump in you'll just be doing what they want. We can't win against a fishman underwater. We'll deal with it up here and go after Luffy once we finish these guys." I told him stopping him from getting himself killed.

"So we beat these guys then rescue Luffy. Fine by me." Sanji said turning away from the water.

Zoro had already picked a fight with the octopus and Sanji was staring down the Manta ray leaving me with the only fish still unoccupied.

"ARLONG!" the shark man turned to me "Let's go!"

I ran forward swung at the fishman only to have him dodge and charge forward.

"Sit down and watch!" Arlong grabbed my head and threw me back.

_How is he so strong?_

I collided with a wall and groaned.

"Steve!" I looked up through my blurred vision and saw Johnny and Yosaku flailing around.

"Shut up your yelling hurts my ears" I told them.

"Arlong!" the fishman turned to me again with a look of disgust on his face "The second my friend get out of that water you'll be sushi. If you're going to sit out then so will I." I laughed and sat down putting on a serious face "You two have fifteen minutes before I involve myself in your fights. Get your acts together and stop screwing around!"

Zoro and Sanji looked at me "Fine no need to be so pushy."

I sat down and stared down Arlong while keeping my eye on Zoro and Sanji.

They had fifteen minutes till I had the strength to stand up again. If it took them that long, we may never beat Arlong.

My little pep talk was all it took to get Zoro ready to fight he immediately ran at Hatchan swinging and cut off a piece of the octopus' hair. Sanji was in a martial arts fight with the manta ray but most of his kicks were being blocked.

Zoro looked like he was struggling. He had passed out on the ground. The octopus knocked over a portion of the building trying to make in fall on Zoro but Zoro stood up and threw the octopus into his own trap.

"I'm not stepping in for twelve more minutes. I don't care how hurt you are Zoro."

I saw Sanji give me a look that said _He's too hurt you gotta step in_, but I said fifteen minutes and I meant it. He should have been paying attention because the fishman punched him across the park.

"All of them except the red headed one are taken care of"

"You mean they're already gone I just took out my swords for this." Hatchan said surfacing from the rubble wielding six swords.

"HehHehHeh" I started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Arlong said raising an eyebrow.

"It's funny you think you won. Zoro! Stop taking a nap and do your job. You still have ten minutes."

"I'm not dead yet. Six swords that's hilarious. I have a man to meet. Until I meet him not even Death will stop me." Zoro stood up "Yosaku, Johnny swords!"

The guys threw Zoro their swords so he could use his signature style.

"And you! Stop smoking and get over here!" I turned my head and yelled.

"That was a forty level punch? What a joke." Sanji said standing up.

Zoro caught Johnny and Yosaku's swords dodge Hachi's strike and delivered his own

"Now I'm mad." Hatchan stood up despite his injury "It's basic math six swords beats three swords."

"You may have more swords, but the weight of our swords is completely different." Zoro explained to the octopus.

Zoro blocked a six pointed strike only to have his swords move and Hatchan slam his head into Zoro's stomach. Hatchan began spinning his entire body becoming one huge blade. Zoro was falling from the sky about to land on the blades but rolled and blocked the assault.

At the same time I heard what sounded like someone chopping down trees.

_Hope Usopp's alright._

"That bastard rolled over my swords and cut my hands like some circus act." The bloodied Hatchan said.

Hatchan attempted to use the same **Pot Stance** he used before but this time Zoro broke all six of the blades.

"Now do you understand the difference in our swords?" Zoro asked **"It's over TATSUMAKI!" ** Zoro created a whirlwind of blades that chew up the octopus.

The Manta-man tried to punch the weakened Zoro but Sanji arrived to block the punch.

"You've got five minutes" I said staring the two down "I suggest you hurry unless you want to look like failures."

Then Sanji jumped into the water saying he could save Luffy without Zoro.

"That was dumb. He only had to fight the fishman not free Luffy." I remarked.

It took a little bit but Sanji surfaced gasping for air complaining that the fish man should fight him on equal ground.

_Then don't jump into the water dumbass._

"Where's Luffy?" I asked him

"He's half fine"

_Half?_

The fishman punched at Sanji but missed and the cook delivered a series of precise kicks to various parts of the body culminating with **"Mutton Shot!" **Which sent the fishman flying through the building.

I finally had the strength to stand "Right on time you only had a few seconds left."

"SCREW YOU!" they both yelled.

"Well the small fries should take on the small fries." I said walking past the two "I'm just kidding good job you two you bought me the time I needed to catch my breath."

Sanji explained Luffy was out of danger for the time being but Arlong clearly wasn't going to let us go free him.

"Well than let's deal with the immediate problem." I said facing Arlong

"You pathetic humans really think you can beat me. That's hilarious" he swung his hand through the air and Zoro and Sanji fell to the ground

_What the hell!_

I ran at Arlong but just got shot in the leg by whatever hit Zoro and Sanji and I fell to the ground behind Arlong.

Arlong put his hands in his pockets "See I can crush you humans just by playing with a little water."

"ARLONG!"

I looked back and saw that Nami had come to this place to confront her captor.

"What brings you here?" Arlong asked

"I'm here to kill you." Nami told him without wasting a second.

"You think you can kill me. You've tried dozens of times over the years and never once came close. You'll be my navigator forever. Since I'm such a nice guy if you come back willingly I'll spare the villagers but no matter what these guys" he gestured to us "will be killed because they pissed my off. So? What's it going to be Nami?"

"I'm sorry everyone" Nami turned to look at the people from the village "will you die with me?"

"Of course!"

There was an explosion of water from over the fence.

"It worked!" Sanji said getting excited "Now I just have to free his legs."

"I see what you were getting at." I told him.

_Luffy's alright they stretched his neck to bring his head above the water. Good._

Sanji stood up "I'm going back in."

"I've got thirty seconds then I'm done" Zoro said pushing himself to stand up.

"Don't push so hard I can do this." I told him.

"No" he looked at me "I won't just lay there and bleed out I'm doing what I have to."

"Pay attention mutant your mine." Zoro looked at Arlong who was suddenly hit in the face with an egg.

"I've got your back to Zoro!" someone yelled from behind us

"Usopp!"

"Can you believe it Nami I took down one of those officers." Usopp had such a big smile on his face I was sure that he was telling the truth. He wouldn't lie to her like that not with everything that was going on.

I heard a splash and saw the octopus had jumped in the water after Sanji.

"Leave him focus on Arlong" I instructed Zoro.

"His nose is mine!" Zoro swung his sword at Arlong only to have it be block by his nose.

I wrapped my whip around Arlong's mouth to keep it pried open from behind but he bit through it and dug his nose into Zoro's chest

Arlong picked up Zoro by the throat "What gave you all the bandages, you fall down the stairs?"

He pulled off the wrappings and saw Zoro wound. It was bad even worse than I thought it was. It looked as if Zoro had been cut in two and sown back together. It was so bad it even looked like Arlong felt sorry for Zoro.

"If you lie down quietly wounds don't reopen." Zoro forced out.

"Can you afford to laugh in your sorry state?" Arlong asked him.

"He's not talking about himself he's talking about the octopus." I explained. I looked back and saw that a small part of the ocean had turned red.

"I'm BACK!"

I looked behind me and saw that Luffy had finally surfaced and was back in the fight "Your late idiot."

He grabbed onto Zoro "Zoro tag out."

Luffy pulled himself in and threw Zoro out into his previous position. Luffy landed next to me after delivering a series of blows to Arlong.

"Bout time I've been waiting to get started I can't beat this guy alone."

"Let's get going then."

"What was that? Did you hit me?" Arlong stood up and asked.

"No those were just my warm up."

"You should run while you still can Arlong." I looked at him "You've never experienced anything like the two of us working together before."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.  
**

**Sorry this one is a little heavy on the spectating but i wasn't sure how to transition to the fight with Arlong without just knocking Steve out.**


	19. Chapter 19: Torturer

_Italics is for Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**NO POV**

After arriving at Arlong Park, Luffy is submerged in water forcing Zoro, Sanji, and Steve to fight Arlong's men without him. Steve challenges Arlong but is forced to sit and wait for Luffy to revive so the two can fight together. Prepared to free Nami and with Luffy back on dry land the two ready for their clash with Arlong.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Luffy and I stood together ready to fight Arlong. Usopp was behind us saying he had our backs.

_Thanks._

"Even if there are two of you what difference would it make, can you comprehend the difference between us?" Arlong asked us.

"Your nose?" "Jaw?" Luffy and I answered respectively.

We both snapped our fingers "It's the web hands!"

"SPECIES!" Arlong thrust forward in an attempt to bite us in two.

Arlong kept charging forward trying to chomp Luffy and I. After missing multiple times he grabbed Luffy by the throat. With one move he bit at Luffy's head. I grabbed Luffy and stretched his neck to avoid the bite.

"That was close." I looked at the barely phased Luffy.

Arlong had missed Luffy and sunk his teeth into a stone pillar, but instead of breaking his jaw shattered the stone. Luffy and I took the moment of distraction caused by the collapse to run back and regroup.

_If we get bit we will die._

"This is the power of a fishman." Arlong began going on another soapbox "This is the power that we were bestowed with, that is why your species is inferior."

"How pathetic" I used my whip to crush what was left of the pillar and Luffy crumbled a stone in his hand "You think we need to chew stone to break it."

"You're so weak! Humans can't even save themselves from drowning!" Arlong charged at us again.

"That's why I need help!" Luffy picked up a pair of swords and began swinging around wildly.

_That just looks sad._

Arlong easily broke both of Luffy's swords "Enough playing around."

"Shut up!" Luffy punched Arlong in the face knocking him off balance.

"Chew on this! **Whip Crush!**" I slammed my whips into Arlong's face shattering his teeth.

"I can't use swords, I can't navigate, I can't cook and I can't lie"

"Most people in this world can't survive without others by their side. Without each other Luffy and I would have died a long time ago."

"It's strange how honest you two are" Arlong sat up "You crew must be distraught being led by such fools. No wonder you made the other two fight while you just sat there. You call yourselves captains but what can either of you two do!"

"We can beat you."

"Enough talk" Arlong's teeth remerged from his gums.

_What the hell they came back._

"Surprised I am a shark. We have hundreds of extra teeth each set stronger than the last." Arlong pulled out his own teeth two more times placing one set in each hand "Now do you get it. How truly superior fishmen are. **Tooth Gum!**"

Arlong snapped his jaws at Luffy and I forcing us to back off until we had to separate with Arlong choosing to chase me. I was running out of room when I grabbed the closest thing and used it to block Arlong's strike.

Along kept laying into me not realizing he was biting his own lackey "Arlong…please…"

"Ahh my brother. How dare you!"

"I just got an idea!" Luffy yelled from the other side of the park.

Luffy ran up to Arlong and began to fight against him allowing me to take a breather.

_Let's see this amazing plan._

Logically I was skeptical. I never trust the words "Luffy" and "Plan" together. They really don't even belong in the same sentence.

And I was right. That moron took out Arlong's teeth and put them in his own mouth.

"This isn't time for jokes Luffy. Stop screwing around" I yelled

"Who says I'm screwing around?"

Arlong pushed Luffy back till he was able to clamp his teeth around Luffy's waist. Luffy responded be using his own set to bite into Arlong's shoulder.

I flipped over Arlong whipping his back and forcing him to free Luffy. When I landed Arlong bit into my forearm.

"Gaaaahhhh!" I used all my strength to force Arlong onto the ground slamming the back of his head into the cement.

I forced Arlong's mouth open and pulled my bloodied arm out of his jaws.

_God it hurts. But I can't give in now. My friends need me._

"Where did he go?" Luffy asked me.

I looked up and saw that Arlong was gone.

"He's in the water!" Usopp warned us from his position behind the wall near the villagers.

A fin appeared in the pool nearby "Ahh it's a shark!" Luffy screamed

"No I think that's Arlong." I corrected as the fin disappeared "He dove under. Careful Luffy."

Suddenly Arlong jumped out of the water **"Shark Darts!"**

Arlong soared through the air like a rocket. Luffy Grabbed my and pulled us out of harm's way. We had a rough landing causing me to fall on my already injured arm I hummed in pain trying not to scream when Arlong burst out of the building back towards us. We moved forcing Arlong into the ground but he just laid there supported by his nose.

Arlong kept jumping around crashing into me and Luffy tearing us apart.

"Don't just stand there you two have to get away from the water." Usopp warned us.

"NO!" We both "We're going to destroy that nose."

I backed up when Luffy grabbed his fingers and stretched them him to a small wall **"Gum-Gum Shield."**

"**Shark Darts!" **Arlong burst out and got caught between Luffy's fingers. Luffy bounced off and slammed into the wall and Arlong disappeared. Arlong exploded out of the tower and shot at Luffy who this time defended himself with **Gum-Gum Fingernet.**

Arlong got caught up in Luffy's fingers and Luffy attacked him **"Gum-Gum Spear!" **Luffy shoved both his feet into Arlong's stomach making him cough up blood.

Arlong's eye's suddenly turned into slits.

_He's pissed_

He grabbed Luffy by the hair as the rubber boy fell from the sky "HOW DARE YOU FILTHY HUMAN!"

He threw Luffy back into the building "DON'T THINK I FORGOT ABOUT YOU!" he turned and charged at me

"OH Crap!" I ran to try and avoid the enraged Arlong but still got punched into a wall.

Arlong tried to smash my skull but Luffy grabbed my ankle and pulled me out bringing us both onto the roof. Arlong's fist went into the wall and when he pulled it out he had a huge jagged sword in his possession.

"It's Kiribachi!" I heard Nami yell.

Arlong flipped multiple times slamming his blade into the ground causing huge eruptions of rubble.

"Just keep climbing!" I screamed to Luffy.

We went as high as we could until we ended up with nowhere to go. Arlong swung at us destroying a wall an giving us a place to hide.

"What is this place it's full of paper" Luffy pointed out all the fluttering parchment.

"These are all the maps Nami has drawn over the years. All for my people."

I looked around the room and saw that every single scrap of paper had a map drawn on it. The room wasn't very big. The was a desk, a chair, and a shelf. I walked up to the desk it had boxes and stacks of paper.

And a pen. A pen covered in blood.

"This pen… is encrusted with blood."

I felt Arlong's blade go around my neck "Nami will help me reach my dream of a fishman empire weather she wants to or not. Her skills are wasted on fools like you! You could never use her as effectively as I will!"

_**USE!**_

"HOW DARE YOU!" I one grip I crushed his sword.

"NAMI'S NOT SOME TOOL!" Luffy said running up and punching Arlong.

"You're right she's not my tool. Since I give her a home and food, you could say she's _My Crewmate!"_

_**THIS BASTARD!**_

Luffy kicked the desk sending it flying out the window. With a flick of my wrist I smashed the shelf along the wall.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Arlong screamed as Luffy and I continued to tear Nami's room apart.

Arlong swung at us but missed and destroyed his precious maps by accident. Arlong grabbed Luffy and sunk his teeth into Luffy's neck as retribution

"I don't give a crap about fishmen or maps." I said jumping onto Arlong's back "But I do give a damn about saving Nami!"

I used all my strength and pulled Arlong's jaws open freeing Luffy.

"She never once wanted to come here" Luffy said wiping off some of the blood on his neck "We won't allow this room to exist."

Luffy threw his leg up and I did the same with my whip.

"Don't get so cocky" Arlong fixed his nose which Luffy had broken and began spinning in the air **"Shark Tooth Drill!"**

Arlong collided with both Luffy and I snaring both of us in his large jaws.

"**Gum-Gum Battle-Axe!" "Whip Strom Force!"**

Both mine and Luffy's attack slammed into Arlong's back sending him crashing to the bottom floor of the tower.

"We may have over done it the whole things coming down!" I told Luffy.

* * *

**Nami's POV**

After things stopped flying out the windows I began to get worried. Then the whole place started to collapse. Everyone started to run for cover except me I needed to go help them.

"Nami you gotta move!" Johnny said grabbing my arm and pulling me away from the collapsing build.

I fought with him trying to go towards the falling tower "NO! Luffy and Steve are still inside!"

"They'll be fine we have to move ore we end up buried alive in rubble!" Usopp ran up and pulled me away.

"LET ME GOOO!"

* * *

When the dust finally settled all that remained of Arlong Park was rubble.

_Luffy. Steve._

The rubble at the top started shifting slightly and then fully moved. Standing there where two men. Two humans, Steve and Luffy.

Yosaku and Johnny were crying tears of joy and I could feel a few of my own as well.

"They alright?" Usopp asked no one in particular.

"NAMI!"

I looked up to see the two men at the top of the pile, the ones still standing.

"YOUR OUR CREWMATE GOT IT?!"

I couldn't stop the tears anymore "Got it."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Luffy started to laugh. We had won. But our celebration was short lived because the Marines showed up to spoil our fun.  
"I'm amazed the fishmen were defeated by no-names." A rat-like Marine said clapping "I Captain Nezumi claim all the treasure of Arlong Park for myself."

I saw a figure approach the rat-man from behind and grab his shoulder terrifying the man.

The figure was Zoro "No need to be such a party pooper."

"Come Luffy there's still work to do." I said starting to descend the pile of destruction Luffy and I had created.

With a little help from Zoro and Sanji, Luffy and I "handled the Marines". Even Nami got to get a blow in

I cracked my whip against the ground for emphasis "Listen and listen well you pile of filth. You're going to clean up the mess these fishmen left, also you're going to rebuild the nearby towns and you won't lay a hand on the money that belongs to the island. Have I made myself clear you poor excuse for a human being!"

"Wow he's creepy." I heard the crowd mumble

"It's not like that." I said with a sad look.

"I swear I'll get you back for this, you said your names where Luffy and Steve right. You better be prepared things are going to get real bad." The rat man yelled as he swam off.

* * *

We went back to the village to get ourselves looked at by a proper doctor. Luffy, Zoro and I were inside getting stiches and bandages over large portions of our bodies.

"What the hell were you thinking hardly sowing up a wound like this? The doctor scolded while treating Zoro's torso "Your ship doesn't have a doctor?"

"That's a good point we need a medical professional." I told Luffy.

"Okay but first a musician. Pirates gotta sing you know."

We partied for a couple days. To be honest I don't remember most of it. I do remember sitting with Sanji and Zoro in an alley.

Luffy ran up to us asking "Sanji where that meat melon thing I saw you eating."

"The whole street is a buffet beats me." Sanji said breaking the unfortunate truth to Luffy.

"Let's go look for it buddy." I stood up and began walking around with Luffy.

We walked for a while we passed Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku dancing and telling stories to the villager, some true some not. I don't know how but we made it outside of town to a cliff nearby. There was a man sitting at what looked to be a makeshift grave.

"He looks like he's paying his respects let's leave him be Luffy." I said turning Luffy back towards town.

"Wait right there!" the man yelled standing up.

"Someone died you have our condiments." Luffy told the man.

"He means condolences."

"Listen you two." The man said still not turning to face us "Nami said she was going to be a pirate with you and it's going to be dangerous, if either of you do anything to take her smile away I'll come and kill you."

"Well we'll never…" Luffy started but was interrupted

"UNDERSTAND!"

"Yes sir." I responded without any emotion.

_This guy really cares._

* * *

The next day we got ready to set sail. We restocked the ship and loaded it with everything we would need.

"We wish you luck but we have to go back to our jobs as bounty hunters now." Johnny and Yosaku wished us luck and said there goodbyes.

"Where's Nami we really need to get going. Is she not coming?" Usopp said.

"What do you mean Nami might not come!" Sanji began sobbing "She's like 99.9 percent of the reason I even joined."

"Wow such commitment." I joked to Zoro.

"SET SAIL!" Nami's voice yelled

"She's running this way what do we do?" Usopp asked

"She said set sail so we set sail." Luffy explained.

We all ran around the ship moving ropes and tying things down till we started to drift out to sea.

"Is it really ok to let her leave like this?" Sanji asked me

"It's her goodbye let her do it her way."

Nami ran zigzag across the pier until she reached the end when she jumped onboard. Her friends were sad to see her leave that way. At least until she lifted up her shirt and all their wallets fell out.

"She hasn't changed any."

"Can we trust her?"

"Great job Nami!"

Luffy and I just laughed. Everyone was finally together our next stop, The Grand Line.

* * *

**?'S POV **

"Another rainy day. Better just turn this bounty into Smoker so he'll get off my back." I mumbled to myself as I walked through the marine base.

"If it isn't my best pal Tashigi" I said as I enter the office. I hugged the girl form behind "where Smoker I got another one."

"In there." She said pointing towards the door behind her "Listen I have to take my sword to get looked at later would you like to tag along?"

"Love to just let me get this thing settled it'll only take a minute."

I knocked on the door and walked in. The room was filled to the brim with smoke and steam.

"*cough cough* Damn open a window Smoker."

"I didn't say you could come in. What do you want?"

"Another bounty for you Captain Cough-Sa-Lot." I remarked.

"Real funny. Fine." he looked at the poster and threw me my money.

"Thank you if you'll excuse me Tashigi and I have some shopping to do."

"Wait I got two new ones in today if you interested. They're surprising take a look." He said handing me two flyers.

When I saw the two flyers I verbally gasped.

"**Strawhat" Monkey D. Luffy- 30,000,000**

"**Torturer" Steve- 20,000,000**

There were two boys pictured. The first had a boy with black hair pictured, he was wearing a strawhat.

The other had a red-headed boy holding a pair of whips and licking blood off his cheek.  
_I see where they got he nickname._

"They'll be stopping here soon they were recently seen in the area." Smoker explained.

"Don't let anyone else take these I'll deal with it when they show up."

I walked out of the room mumbling "Assuming you don't get to them first."

_So you really are coming here._

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for Reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	20. Chapter 20: Loguetown

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"Raise your prices again and I'll stop buying." Nami told the poor bird that had delivered her morning paper.

Luffy and I were sitting towards the front of the ship. He was sitting on the figure head and I was leaning against the railing looking at the horizon.

"We're almost there, the Grande Line. Nami says we have to stop at a place called Loguetown first." I said to myself.

"I can't believe it we're so close." Luffy jumped up and climbed on my back and shook my shoulders "I'm so excited!"

"Cut it out!" I threw him off me.

Luffy fell to the lower part of the ship and crashed into Usopp who spilled hot sauce into his eyes.

"The worlds such a dangerous place, there was another coup…" Something fell out of Nami's paper and floated to the ground.

"AHHHHHH!"

There they were two bounty poster bearing very familiar faces, mine and Luffy's.

**WANTED:**

"**Strawhat" Monkey D. Luffy- 30,000,000**

"**Torturer" Steve- 15,000,000**

Luffy was all excited about how his poster came out but I was less happy. Sure being wanted was cool but the part that sucked was my picture. I was sticking my tongue out and licking blood off my cheek.

_I look like some psycho. And what kind of name is Torturer._

I knew where they had gotten the picture. It was from when we had beaten up those marines I was trying to be intimidating and look what happened.

While the others were celebrating and I was wallowing in self-pity Zoro pointed out that we had reached an island.

"That is Loguetown, the place of the beginning and the end that is the birth place of the pirate king as well as the place of his execution." Nami explained.

"So this is the place the Pirate king was killed." Luffy looked interested in actually learning something for once.

"This certainly is an interesting place." I added.

* * *

We docked The Merry and set off into town. We each went our own way. Luffy went to go see the execution tower, Sanji was going to the market, Nami clothes shopping and Usopp went to get supplies. That left Zoro and I standing around with nothing to do.

"Nami lent me some money so I'm going to get some new swords." Zoro said walking away.

"Wait for me I'm bored let me come." I said catching up "Also what were you thinking borrowing money from Nami?"

We walked across a few streets looking for a blacksmith when we saw some thugs harassing a woman. The two guys pulled out swords and went to attack he girl when she took out a sword of her own and easily beat the two.

Her moment of triumph was quickly upstaged when she tripped and fell, knocking off her glasses.

"These yours" Zoro said handing the girl her glasses

"Thank you" Zoro gave the woman her glasses and quickly stood up pulled me along towards a store.

"What's your problem!" I said struggling in his grip.

"That girl looked just like my friend who died."

_Oh. That must be awkward_

"Well the worlds a big place probably just a coincidence." I tried to reassure him

"Whatever just hope I never see her again. Ah look a shop let's go in." Zoro turned into the store.

The shop was small but there were a lot of swords lying around.

"I need two swords for 100,000 Beli what can you do?" Zoro asked the man

The man gave a grumble and pointed Zoro to the barrel in the corner saying it was that or blunt trash. The man took one look at Zoro's katana and almost lost his mind. He started haggling with Zoro for the blade but Zoro wasn't selling.

"My friend doesn't want to sell his sword. Back off." I glared at the man to stop his insistent ramblings.

"Could it be?!" Someone threw their hands down on the counter and began staring at Zoro's sword.

It was that girl from earlier. Zoro didn't look happy to see her.

"This is the Wado Ichimonji, one of the twenty one great swords." The girl blurted out.

"Yes it is decent but it's still not worth that much." The shopkeeper said trembling.

"Decent! This sword can't be bought for less than a million Beli." I girl reviled

"Were you trying to rip us off old man?" I said glaring at the man again.

The man got all pissed and threw the women the sword she had come to pick up. Only to have her knock over a display trying to catch it. The man said that Zoro had no business owning such a sword. He directed us to the barrel in the back corner of the shop telling Zoro he could have two swords from there.

"We met outside didn't we?" the girl asked making Zoro all flustered "your using three sword style. That reminds me of the bounty hunter… what was his name."

"Zoro? I've heard of him." I cut into the conversation to spare Zoro the trouble of trying to talk about himself.

"Yeah that's him, to think that he uses his swords as a means of money making. How despicable. In this day all the swords are held by pirates or bounty hunter. The swords are crying." The girl said with a sad look.

"Perhaps it's circumstance." Zoro said looking up from the barrel "The needs of the time and all that."

"I'd be happy to welcome criminals if it means I can sell swords. Ever since that monster took over this place I've been losing business." The owner told us.

"Smoker is not a monster." The girl defended the man

The two had an argument over this man but only one word caught my attention.

_Devil Fruit._

"My pride as a swordsman demands I take all the master swords from the criminals of the world." The girl laid down her ambition like it was nothing.

Zoro said that he wouldn't give up his sword but the girl said she just wanted them away from evil not for herself. Then she pulled a blade out of the barrel and said it was another of the master swords, Sandai Kitetsu.

"I can't sell you that sword!" the owner screamed.

"Why not?" I asked the man, seemed perfectly normal to be

"It's cursed." Zoro told us.

"He's right I'm afraid that if I sold the sword I might get cursed to." The owner said looking sorry.

"I like it. I'll take it!" Zoro smiled looking at the sword

"I told you it's not for sale!"

"Then we'll do a little test. Let's see what's stronger the curse or my luck." Zoro threw the sword into the air terrifying everyone in the shop

"Stop you lose you arm." The girl tried to run and move Zoro but I stopped her.

"Don't."

The sword spun around the air and just missed Zoro's arm on the way down. Everyone, even me, let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey girl, pick out another sword." Zoro instructed the poor women.

"Wait There!" the owner ran upstairs and reemerged with another sword.

"This is Yubashiri, the best sword I have and I will personally attest to that. I want you to take this sword no charge. Take the Kitetsu as well. I'm sorry I tried to rip you off, it's been a long time since someone as skilled as you has come into my shop."

Zoro picked up the two swords thanked the man and we left.

When we turned the corner someone called out to us "What'ch doing."

I turned around and saw her, a women wearing a blue leather jacket and tight jeans. She had long flowing blue hair in contrast to tiny body. I recognize this girl anywhere. My older sister, Rose. The thing is Rose may be the older twin but she is by far the less mature one. Both mentally and physically. She's eighteen just like me but instead of being my height she was barley taller than Luffy. Her only attractive feature is her face and hair. Anything below her shoulder looked like the body of a girl who barely hit puberty. Flat as a board.

The women jumped up and grabbed Zoro's arm "ZORO! I missed you! Where did you go I told you I would meet you at the end of the block and you never came back?!"

"That road had too many turns"

"Zoro it was a dead end."

"What the hell. You go to him first before your own flesh and blood."

"Oh I missed you to little brother."

We hugged, we hadn't seen each other in a while.

"So" she started "I saw someone here had a bounty poster." She reached into her jacket and pulled out a flyer "Torturer Steve worth 15,000,000 Maybe I should take you in little bro."

"You wouldn't!" I said shocked

"I'm kidding I'd never hurt you, especially since your my sweet Zoro's captain." Rose said

_Sweet Zoro?!_

"What the hell! I thought you said you two had a working relationship!" I screamed point blank into Zoro's face.

"It's not like that I swear!" Zoro defended himself.

Rose pulled on Zoro's arm even harder "I can't believe you play with my heart like this Zoro. You know you want me" she gave him a seductive look.

"Stop flirting!"

We kept walking and having our argument over Zoro and Rose's relationship until we came to an intersection where we ran across Nami, Sanji and Usopp.

"Who are all you?" Rose asked my friends.

"Who are you?" the three asked

"Okay everyone this is my twin sister, Rose." I explained introducing her

"What a beautiful maiden. Please allow me to protect you from this moronic swordsman." Sanji said with hearts in his eyes as he put his hand out to Rose.

"Keep away from my sister Blondie." I said slapping Sanji's hand away.

"Aww don't be like that the lady is old enough to make her own choices." Sanji said getting uncomfortably close to Rose.

"Zoro help there's a pervert." She cowered behind Zoro.

Sanji began wallowing on the ground when he was brushed off in favor of his rival.

"Has anyone seen Luffy?" Usopp asked the group.

We began discussing were our rubber friend may be.

"You said Luffy wanted to see the execution platform right, that's in the square." Rose pointed down the street to a huge metal tower.

We all looked towards the tower and saw Luffy stuck in stocks on the platform.

_What is he doing?_

"Grrrr. Zoro, Sanji you're with me. Nami and Usopp take the stuff back to the ship. Rose….Where'd she go?" my sister had vanished.

I took the guys and ran to the square to free Luffy. He was being held on the tower with a sword above his head ready to decapitate him.

"Luffy!" I yelled as we got closer.

"Steve! You're here to help me out!" Luffy answered.

"So you did come." the man holding Luffy hostage said. I recognized him immediately.

_Buggy._

"Doesn't matter red-head you're too late!" Buggy began to bring his sword down onto Luffy.

"I don't care what I takes bring that tower down!" I told the two men with me.

Sanji dealt with the little guys while Zoro and I got closer to the tower.

_If I could just pull that tower down._

"Zoro! Sanji! Nami! Usopp!" Luffy began yelling out names "And Steve!"

The sword was to close for comfort "Sorry but I'm dead."

"Don't say that!"

_Please. We still have so much to do together._

Out of nowhere a bolt of lightning struck the metal tower. The whole thing bent and fell to the ground.

_Impossible. It was like a miracle._

"Never mind." Luffy stepped out and picked up his hat "looks like I made it."

"Thank God." Was all I could say.

Marines surrounded the square.

"What do we do?" Zoro asked.

"Run for it, get to the ship!" Luffy answered with a smile.

We ran for blocks with no escape in sight.

"We should just fight them." Zoro stated acting like we weren't in a nasty situation.

"No. Nami and Usopp are waiting for us we can't stop." I told Zoro

"Roronoa Zoro." I looked ahead and saw the woman from the store "To believe you were him all along, and a pirate as well. Give it to me, The Wado Ichimonji!

"Just you try." Zoro told the girl

The women took out her sword and swung at Zoro

*Clang*

The sound of metal on metal resonated through the air, but Zoro's swords weren't what blocked the swing.

It was a dagger. Held in the hand of my older sister.

"Back off Tashigi." Rose said staring the girl down with a dagger in each hand.

"Rose! What are you doing?! Move!" Tashigi demanded.

"I won't let you lay a finger on Zoro or my brother." Rose said pushing the girl back.

"You're related to that man, The Torturer. Out of my way!"

Rose avoided the swing reached inside her jacket and threw a handful of daggers at Tashigi.

"**Knife Rain!" **The girl was pelted by a shower of blades.

"Steve, Luffy keep going I'll take care of this and meet up with you later." She said blocking another strike from the Marine.

"I'm staying you all keep going" Zoro said sending us off.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

_Why do we have to fight?_

In one motion I attacked Tashigi.

"Give up Tashigi you can't beat me." I said as I pushed the girl back against a wall with a knife to her throat "you can't even land a hit."

She looked sad. Tashigi was crying.

"Why *sniff* I thought you were my friend?" Tashigi asked me

"I am that's why your still breathing. Goodbye Tashigi."

I walked away trying not to cry

"Why are you helping that man?" She glared at Zoro again despite the fact she was sitting defeated on the ground.

"Because…He's Just the hottest isn't he!" I said rubbing my hands over Zoro's body "He's mine you stay away!"

"Let go of me!" Zoro begged trying to push me, his true love, away.

"I'll never let go."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Luffy, Sanji and I left Rose and Zoro behind and kept running to The Merry.

"Someone's ahead." Luffy pointed out.

"I am Captain Smoker of Marine Headquarters, and I won't let you leave." The man's arms turned to smoke and surrounded Luffy.

Sanji and I tried to free Luffy with our attacks but we went right through the man "I don't have time to play around. **White Blow!**" Smoker punched Sanji and I across the street.

Luffy tried to fight back but every punch went right through. The captain subdued Luffy and prepared to deliver the final blow.

"Your luck's run out."

"Not necessarily" and man appeared and grabbed the marine's arm preventing him from ending Luffy.

Smoker and the mystery man exchanged words until there was a gust of wind so strong it blew us away.

"We gotta run! A storm's coming." Zoro said running into us and grabbing Luffy.

We ran till we couldn't go any more.

"Get on!" Usopp yelled to us from the ship.

We all climbed aboard and Usopp cut the rope so we could leave the island.

"That was close." Nami said she pointed to a light in the distance "that light is the entrance to the Grand Line."

"Wow we got far away from the island quickly." Rose pointed out.

_Wait Rose?_

"What are you doing here!" Zoro and I screamed

Rose started to do a nervous laugh "I wasn't kidding Zoro. I said I'd never let go." She turned to me and Luffy "so is it alright if I stay. You said you're going to the Grand Line right. I wanna see mom and dad can I please come. You know I'm a good fighter." She gave us a pout.

_Not that face._

"Okay."

"Yay Rose is staying!" Luffy and Sanji yelled.

"You have the most beautiful hair." Nami complimented trying to touch a lock.

_Don't_

Rose slapped her hand away and gave her a fiery stare before letting out a breath "Sorry. But please don't ever touch my hair. It's a personal thing you understand."

Zoro just grumbled to himself. But I saw that blush on his cheeks

_I don't know if I have the energy to keep those two apart._

* * *

**Lilly's POV**

"CAPTAIN!" one of the crew came running up to us screaming "It's Hawk-eye he's here."

_Big brother came to visit again._

"Quite a rare occurrence to see you here Hawk-eye, twice in such a short period of time is worrisome." My husband said to my brother.

"I recently came across something I thought you and Lilly would find interesting. If I remember you to always told a story about two boys from a village." He handed us a pair of posters with faces on them.

_No Way!_

I was crying tears of joy "So they finally set out. We may see them soon."

There were two boys one was Luffy a boy from the village we had left the twins at. The other was my son, Steve.

"Let's have a party to celebrate." Shanks insisted.

"You stay to Mihawk have some fun with your little sister.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"We're almost there we need to celebrate" Sanji said rolling a barrel onto the deck.

Sanji shoved his foot onto the barrel "To find the All Blue."

The others followed suit.

"To be the world's greatest swordsman."

"To draw a map of the world"

"T…To be a brave warrior of the sea."

"To see my Parents."

Luffy and I were the last to put or feet up "To be kings of the pirates."

"WE"RE GOING TO THE GRAND LINE!" *smash*

_Our adventure is just beginning._

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	21. Chapter 21: The Grand Line

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We sailed through the storm in the direction of the Grand Line. The sea was rough and choppy due to the wind. Nami, Luffy and I were outside. Luffy was sitting on the figure head like usually, despite the raging winds.

"Luffy get down from there if you fall in there's no way we'll get you out." I tried to get Luffy to come down so he wouldn't get hurt but he kept saying I was trying to steal his spot.

"You two come inside we have something to discuss" Nami said walking towards the kitchen.

We followed Nami inside and took a seat at the table. Nami laid down her map and pointed to a spot on it.

"The entrance to the Grand Line is a mountain" Nami explained much to everyone's denial.

"A Ship can't climb a mountain, even if there was a river up it." Usopp said.

"But if that's what the map says. Besides Nami's never wrong." Sanji defended the girl.

"She stole that map from Buggy, who knows if we can trust it." Zoro added "Why even go that way when we can just sail into the Grand Line from the side.

"No we can't!" "We have to use the cool entrance!" Luffy and Nami yelled out respectively.

"Hey it's nice out, the storms gone." Rose said looking out the window.

We all took a walk outside to find that the storm was gone.

_How odd._

"Oh Crap! We're in the Calm Belt!" Nami screamed unexpectedly "Grab the oars and start rowing!"

"But it's so nice here can't we stay." Rose pouted.

Nami explained that the Grand Line was surrounded by two belts in which there is never any wind. The whole ship abruptly shook and a dozen sea kings surfaced from the ocean floor. Most of us were freaked out and Rose was on the ground crying in fear.

"Make the big things go away" She whispered to herself.

Rose has a pretty bad case of Megalophobia, the fear of giant things specifically animals or creatures. While Rose continued crying against the mast the rest of us broke out the oars.

"When that thing dives back under, row like you've never row before." I instructed.

The king whose nose we were currently sitting on began taking in air at a fast rate. The thing sneezed and blew of right off him.

"Usopp's falling!" someone pointed out in the commotion.

Luffy stretched out an arm and grabbed the stunned long nose, stopping him from being food for a frog like sea king. After recovering Usopp we got blow all the way back to the storm. Nami explained that was why we had to use the other entrance. She also explained how due to sea currents the Mountain could be traversed.

"So it's a magic mountain." Luffy and Rose asked.

We sailed for a few more minutes before we got close enough to see the Red Line. The thing was covered in so many clouds you couldn't see the top. You couldn't see the bottom either because of the waves hitting the side.

"There it is, our ticket to the Grand Line, a waterway up a mountain." I cheered out loud.

"Turn the rudder starboard" Nami instructed Sanji and Usopp who were steering. *SNAP*

_No._

The rudder snapped in two preventing us from making any turns. We were now headed straight for a wall with no way to turn.

Luffy threw me his hat and jumped overboard. **"Gum-Gum Balloon!"** Luffy got between the wall and the ship to correct its course, but as a result began to fall towards the water. Luffy grabbed onto Zoro's hand to pull himself back onboard.

_We're alive_

"We did it!" We all cheered as we sailed up the mountain.

We hit the top and turned to go down the mountain. We rushed down the mountain at lightning speed.

"I can see it, The Grand Line." Luffy yelled.

"This is it, the greatest sea in the world." I smiled.

"There's a mountain ahead." Sanji yelled out from his spot on the mast.

As we got closer we saw that it wasn't a mountain but a whale. A huge whale with a forehead covered in scars.

"Zoro save me!" Rose began cowering behind Zoro.

"What do we do we fight it?" Zoro asked

"The things so big we can probably just sail around it and avoid confrontation." I yelled back.

"Where gonna ram it was going to fast!"

*BOOM*

Luffy fired off the cannon causing the ship to slow down.

"What were you thinking!" I yelled out.

The figurehead snapped off when we bumped into the whale, enraging Luffy.

"That was my seat!"

"Now's our chance let's go!" I said grabbing an oar and rowing.

The whale roared but we kept rowing. Luffy had other ideas.

"You destroyed my seat!" Luffy yelled as he punched whale in the eye.

_WTF!_

"You idiot it saw us!"

"Come at me!" Luffy yelled at the whale.

"Shut up!" Rose and Zoro kicked Luffy.

The whale opened its mouth and sucked in water. Pulling the ship inside its body. Luffy fell off the boat and towards the water. The water rushed us down further into the whale. We got pushed all the way to what I believe was the stomach.

_Where's Luffy?_

When things finally settled down we looked around where we were. There was an island inside the whale!

"Is this some kind of dream?" Usopp asked.

"This must be heaven." Rose added "these even a house for us to stay in. Now we can spend eternity together Zoro."

A giant squid burst out from underwater and went to attack us. Rose fell to the floor again from fear and Nami and Usopp were screaming. The three harpoons suddenly shot through the squid, killing it.

"There's someone there." Zoro said

He and Sanji got ready to fight our potential enemy.

"Maybe we should open fire?" Usopp quivered in fear.

"Wait someone's coming out." I looked towards the house and saw a shadow.

An old man with flower like hair stepped out of the house and stared me down. We stayed still for looking at each other for a while.

"SAY SOMETHING!" Sanji screamed.

"We have a canon and we're not afraid to use it." Usopp said trying to act tough.

The old man looked at us "Don't think about it, someone might end up dead."

"And who might that be?" Zoro asked

"Me"

"Oh come on!" Zoro yelled back

"Relax, Hey old man your mind telling us who you are and where we are?" I asked calming Zoro.

"It's polite to introduce you self-first." The man said.

"Okay I'm…"

"My name is Crocus. I'm a seventy one year-old lighthouse keeper."

"NOBODY CARES IF I KILL THIS GUY RIGHT!" I yelled in frustration.

"It should be obvious where you are, you were swallowed by the whale." Crocus explained.

"Are we gonna die in here?" Roes and Usopp cried.

"Exit's right over there." Crocus pointed to a door inside the whale.

The both ships started shaking. Allowing us to see that Crocus ship had an iron bottom.

"So he's started bashing his head again?" the old man said to himself.

"Now that I remember the whale was covered in scars." Nami said to herself.

"But what does it all mean?" Usopp asked.

"It means he's suffering." Nami responded "He's trying to kill the whale from the inside."

"Who cares we need to go before the ship falls apart!" Rose yelled.

"Both us and Luffy are in danger, we have to leave!" I commanded "He didn't make it inside I saw him in the mouth."

Usopp said the old man jumped into the water but we had more important things to do. Zoro and Sanji grabbed the oars so we could row our way out.

A door at the top of the whale opened up and three people fell out, one of them was Luffy.

"You guys are all right. Mind helping me out?" Luffy screamed as he plunged into the water.

We pulled Luffy out of the water and he brought the other two people with him. The two people a women and a man looked terrified of us.

"I won't let you lay a finger on Laboon!" The old man appeared on a platform inside the whale.

Our two new guests picked up guns and fired at the whale. The old man jumped in the line of fire and took the blast himself to protect the whale. The two began gloating about taking the whale for food.

Luffy walked up behind the two and knocked them out cold "Don't know what's going on but you two should be quite."

After everything settled down we docked on the old man's ship. Where he explained that the two people Luffy had knocked out were trying to kill the whale for food. He also explained that it was an island whale that had come here with a pirate crew who, upon completing there journey across the Grand Line would return for him. But they never came back for the poor thing.

"It's been fifty years and Laboon still waits." Crocus explained.

We would later get the whole story outside where Crocus would tell us that the pirates who left Laboon here had abandoned the Grand Line.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

Crocus led us out of the whale through a canal. He told us he had made these tunnels to better treat Laboon. He admitted to have at one point been a ship's doctor but when Steve and Luffy asked him to maybe join us he swiftly denied saying he was too old for such things. The old man opened the gate to let us back out to sea.

"What do we do with these two?" I asked Steve.

"Just throw them overboard." I obliged and dropped the two into the water.

Luffy was playing with something he found on the ground and the rest of us were listening to Crocus tell us about the whale while Nami plotted our course.

Suddenly Luffy returned to the ship and grabbed the mast and broke it running up the Whale. When he got to the top he shoved the mast into the animal.

"What are you doing!" I yelled the whale slammed into Luffy and drove him into the ground.

Luffy stood up unscathed and punched the whale in the eye. Then stopped the fight when the whale went to attack him again.

"It's a tie. Since we don't know who one, when I get back from my trip around the Grand Line I'll come back and fight you again" Luffy said making a promise to the whale.

The whale roared in agreement. Luffy took out some paint and drew his mark on the whales head to symbolize there pact

* * *

**Steve's POV**

The others went their separate ways while Nami plotted our course. I was sitting around with Luffy waiting to start sailing.

"The compass is broken!" Nami yelled out.

"It's not broken it just won't work here." Crocus explained stuff about magnetic fields and minerals.

He told us we would need a device called a Logpose.

"Does it look like this?" Luffy asked holding up a watch like device.

"That's it." Crocus confirmed.

Crocus explained that there were multiple paths to the

Nami took the tool and began to calibrate it when Sanji and Luffy got into an argument over food. Sanji kicked Luffy across the rocks sending him flying past Nami. The force of the wind was so strong it shattered the fragile Logpose. Nami kicked Luffy and Sanji into the water.

I dove in after Luffy to make sure he didn't drown "I'm coming."

I pulled Luffy out of the water with Sanji's help and when we got back to the cape Nami had somehow obtained another Logpose. The two people Rose had throw over board also pulled themselves onto the cape. Sanji helped the women out and left me Luffy and the man to help ourselves.

"We need a ride." The women asked us "Please do us a favor." She added bowing.

"Whatever I don't care." I spoke

"Sure you can come!" Luffy let them on.

* * *

We all climbed aboard The Merry ready to sail with our guests. Crocus saw us off and said his goodbyes. Even the whale roared at us to say his goodbye.

_We're going to our first stop on the Grand Line. Whisky Peak._

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	22. Chapter 22: Bounty Hunters

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

As we sailed it got colder and colder. Eventually it started snowing. I hadn't seen snow in a long time so it was a refreshing experience. Luffy and Usopp were building snowmen with the fallen white powder. Nami had put Sanji on shoveling duty and Zoro was sleeping off to the side with Rose hugging his sleeping body.

_Grrrrrr!_

I was sitting on the railing near the kitchen when Nami ran outside. She threw open the door and knocked me onto the lower deck.

"Ow. What the hell Nami." I said as I rubbed my head.

"Turn the ship 180 degrees. The ship turned itself around we're sailing the wrong way!" Nami yelled.

_I guess I don't get an apology._

"You two go help them!" Nami kicked our guests out onto the deck to help us set the sail and do other tasks.

No sooner did we set the sail did the wind change.

"Ahh the spring breeze" the man and women riding with us stood and took in the breeze

"Jeez Zoro wake up and help us. Rose stop being creepy and help us." I demanded

Neither of them moved an inch. Zoro was out cold and Rose was to love-struck to hear anything.

What took place after that moment was an amalgam of terror, torn sails, icebergs, Holes in the hull, giant frogs and dolphins.

"What's going on with this ocean?!" Nami screamed while still trying to keep control of the ship.

After finally escaping that hell we all passed out on the deck with no energy left to move.

*YAWN* "Hey get off me woman!" Zoro said waking up and pushing Rose off him.

"No come back and lay with your true love!" Rose yelled chasing after him.

"The weathers nice and all but there's no reason to lie around like that." Zoro said looking down at our exhausted bodies.

_Screw you two!_

"Didn't I throw you two overboard?" Rose asked our guests.

"We're headed to their town so they hitched a ride." Luffy explained.

"What is up with you faces. You two look like bad news what were your names?" Rose interrogated our guests.

"Mr. Ni…Nine" "And I'm Miss Wednesday"

"That's the thing your names seem really familiar like I heard them before?"

"She's not alone they sound familiar to we as well." Zoro said siding with Rose.

*THUNK* Nami beat both Rose and Zoro over the head for abandoning us when we needed help.

"I've come to the conclusion that my skills are useless here, But don't worry I will make it work." Nami confidently spoke.

"There it is!" Luffy yelled "Our first stop, Whisky Peak."

The fog cleared up a little and the island came into view. It had huge cactuses growing out of the earth.

"Bet it'd be painful to fall on that thing." I said poking Usopp in the back.

"Don't say that!"

Mr.9 and Miss Wednesday said goodbye and jumped off the ship into the water below.

"What if there are monsters?" Usopp and Rose asked quivering

"No big deal if there are we'll just run." Luffy reassured.

"We might not be able to. You'll have to wait for the log to reset to our next destination. It may take an hour or it may take a couple of days." Nami explained

"Well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." I reassured the two scared members.

"Let's go! Sail up the river!" Luffy yelled as we guided the ship inland.

As we approached the fog seemed to get thicker and thicker.

"Be prepared to react on a moment's notice." I informed the crew.

If you listened closely you could hear people talking, but the fog was so thick you could barely see you own hand in front of your face.

"I hear something" Rose told us

The fog lifted and there were crowds of people cheering for us yelling "Welcome to Whisky Peak."

"What's happening?" Sanji asked.

"There are no monsters just cheering people." Usopp said taking in the surroundings

"There are so many people all cheering for us." Nami added perplexed.

"Yahoo!" Luffy yelled.

_This is certainly unexpected._

"Yeah!" I joined in the cheering.

"Wel…Me~Me~Me. Welcome to Whisky Peak my name is Igarappoi." A man said introducing himself.

Igarappoi invited us to attend a banquet while we entertained them with "tales of our valor"

Luffy, Sanji, Rose, and Usopp were way too excited for this party. Zoro, Nami and I just stared at the four dancing ready to party.

_Nut-jobs_

"How long will the Log take to reset?" Nami asked the man.

"Put such frivolous things out of your mind and have some fun." The man ushered Nami inside instead of answering her question.

_Why didn't he answer her?_

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"PARTY!" I was excited I hadn't been to a party this big in a long time.

_Wonder if Zoro will play spin the bottle with me._

"That look on your face is creepy." Nami teased "You're thinking about Zoro again."

"Why…What are you talking about?" I nervously laughed.

"Well good luck with him. Zoro is quite a catch." She looked over at my soul mate.

_She wants him!_

"Keep away harlot!"

"I'm not interested in him. That idiot is all yours. Look a drinking contest." Nami dragged me over to a table where Steve and Zoro where sitting.

"Ladies." My brother greeted us.

Some women said they were having a drinking contest with a cash prize. That had Nami willing to compete.

"A woman like you could never out drink me." Zoro told Nami

_What?!_

"Are you saying that since Nami's a girl she's weaker than you?!" I angrily looked at Zoro.

"He's not wrong biologically women do usually have a lower tolerance than men." Steve backed Zoro up

"Not you to Little brother. I can't believe you two think so lowly of Nami and I. There's only one way to settle this. Me and Nami vs you and Zoro. Guys vs girls."

Steve and Zoro "You're on"

* * *

**Many Drinks Later.**

By this point most of the other chumps competing had fallen. Only the real competitors were left.

*SLAM* "Amazing these two guy outdrank ten people."

*AHH* "These girl just took down two more people"

"You two morons should give up. Nami and I got you beat."

*THUD*

Steve passed out and Zoro looked to be barely hanging on.

_Time for my master plan!_

I turned my back to Zoro and slipped off my jacket leaving me in only my tank-top.

I gave Zoro and innocent look "Zoro…If you give up maybe I'll turn around."

"Uggghhh it's not worth it." *THUD*

"The green haired man is down"

"Yay us!" Nami and I cheered.

"But which one of the girls will be the one to win the whole thing?" The announcer asked.

I put my jacket back on and looked at Nami "Wanna split the winnings new best friend?"

"Sure" Nami said as we both fell to the floor.

* * *

When I finally came to everyone that wasn't a member of the crew was gone.

"Where'd they all go?" I asked out loud.

I saw Zoro was asleep nearby. I walked over and snuggled his sleeping body waking him in the process.

"Get off me woman!" Zoro shoved me

"You're so rough…I like it." I kept on flirting with the swordsman.

"Where's everybody?" Zoro asked.

"They're asleep. Something's up." I informed him getting serious.

"Let's go take a look around." Zoro said climbing the ladder up to the roof.

I followed suit and walked behind him. When we got outside we saw the two people we had given a ride standing outside with Igarappoi and another woman. They were discussing their plan to capture Luffy and Steve, along with our ship.

"Sorry but they've had a long day you should let them rest." Zoro said alerting them to our presence.

A crowd of people ran out of where Zoro and I had been "Mr.8, Miss Monday two of them escaped!"

_So that guy is really Mr.8._

"So this place is just a cover for a bounty hunter den. How sad this looked like a nice place didn't it hot stuff." Zoro said

"Yes, I count at least a hundred darling. You'll make excellent targets, Baroque Works." I answered with a smile

Are you confused about the way Zoro and I are acting. I guess I should explain. That whole love sick routine is just an act Zoro and I put on to keep Steve off our backs. We are very much in a relationship.

"How do you know our name!" the crowd was in a tizzy that we had caught on to their act.

"A secret organization that uses code names. Keeps their bosses location hidden. A group who ask for complete obedience from its members. We know so much because they tried to recruit us once."

"Something about being Mr.7 and Miss Father's Day, what a tacky names." I added onto Zoro's story.

They began to mumble amongst themselves about needing two tombstones. Zoro and I took that opportunity to get off the roof and into a better position. I made my way through the crowd while Zoro took a place near the back.

"Kill them! … Where'd they go?!"

They turned around to find Zoro near the back and when they shot at him only hit other members of the crew.

"Fools just kill them it's only two people." Mr.8 then gasped when he felt one of my knives against his throat.

"You sure you're only gonna need two?" I whispered into his ear.

I heard multiple rifles getting loaded as they pointed the weapons at me.

"There's the woman."

"Stop you'll shoot me too." Mr.8 pleaded before pulling out a saxophone.

He blew into the horn and bullets came out and he shot his own men. I had run to Zoro when he turned around to blast me.

"That thing doubles as a shotgun! Cool!" I had stars in my eyes looking at the weapon.

"Stay focuses we can cover more ground if we split up" Zoro said.

"But I don't want to leave you" I gave him a pout and blinked my eyes.

Zoro was looking forward to trying out his two new swords, Kitetsu and Yubashiri. An agent of Baroque Works alerted us to his presence causing us to retreat into a building.

We turned around and saw a horde of hunter pointing pistols at us. Zoro kicked a table up to block the hail of bullets. I jumped out the window to separating me from Zoro who went out the front door.

"They've split up" the agents informed each other.

I was running around dispatching bounty hunter after bounty hunter when I felt someone approaching me from behind. I turned around a swatted a knife out of a child's hands. A woman came to the kid's defense begging me to spare him.

"Try that on someone who will fall for it" I was already behind them and they fell to the ground "Don't worry I missed the vital parts."

I continued my rampage taking down members left and right. I heard an earsplitting scream form across the town.

_Zoro must being having fun._

I made my way to a roof to get a better view of the situation. I saw Miss Wednesday riding a duck and Mr.8 shooting at Zoro.

"You should watch your back! Can you keep up with my acrobatic skill?" I turned around and saw Mr.9 doing flips towards me. He had a pair of metal bats in his hands. I blocked them with my knives which we much smaller than his bats. He landed behind me, I just stood there.

"What too scared to move?"

I turned and threw a dagger past him barely missing his face. I kept throwing dozens of daggers at Mr.9.

"Where you acrobatics? You're barely dodging my **Knife Storm!**"

"I'll show you!" They man started flipping until he jumped right off the roof.

_It's just sad._

I jumped down after him to regroup with Zoro who I saw on the ground nearby.

"You holding up alright?" Zoro asked.

"I'm okay." I said smiling.

"I won't forgive you for defeating me!" Mr.9 jumped up and shot his bat at me.

_He does know he did that to himself?_

I got caught on the chain that shot out of the bat "Finish her Mr.8!"

Zoro moved to help me "Don't move or I'll kill your friend."

I looked over and saw that Miss Wednesday had a sword to a sleeping Luffy's stomach. Mr.8 pulled his tie and machine guns extended from the rolls in his hair.

"He's like some lame toy." I said pulling on the chain sending Mr.9 into the air.

The man collided with the bullets and then got sent flying into his partner. I ran forward using Luffy as a trampoline

"You're finished **Buzz-Saw Slicer!**" I cut Mr.8 with a handful of blades while is spun in the air.

I looked down at Zoro "We're done here."

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	23. Chapter 23: Miss All-Sunday

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"Hey get up."

_Who's shaking me?_

I forced my eyes open and saw Nami looming over my body.

"Get up this place is full of bounty hunters."

_Oh damn._

"Alright I'm up, relax." I stood up and walked to the window seeing a man in a trench coat and a woman in a bright yellow dress standing in the middle of the road.

And there was Luffy sleeping the road.

_Idiot! What are you doing!_

Gun shots rang out as Igarappoi shot at the man they called Mr.5.

_What the hell is going on?_

"For a town of Bounty Hunters there's no treasure here at all." Nami said walking over to me

"How tragic." I mumbled

Now the woman in yellow was attacking Miss Wednesday.

"The name of the spy is Igaram, head of the Alabasta royal guard." Mr.5 said walking out of the smoke unscathed.

"The other is the Princess herself, Nefertari Vivi." Mr.5 held up a photo of a younger looking Miss Wednesday.

I saw Zoro and Rose run out and grab Luffy pulling him to safety.

_What are they doing up at an hour like this?_

The fight kept escalating but I was bored. This had nothing to do with me. I walked out the back door.

"Might as well see what Zoro and Rose are up to."

I heard footsteps behind me; I assumed Nami was following me. When I walked outside I saw Igarappoi…Mr.8…Igaram… whatever this guy's name is grabbing Zoro's leg.

"Please protect the princess. If you get her safely home I promise you'll be greatly rewarded." The man pleaded with Zoro.

"Rewarded you say?" I heard Nami speak.

_Oh no. Oh No. OH NO!_

"How about a billion Beli then?" Nami asked the man.

_Crap._

The man was taken back at Nami outlandish request. He was just a guard after all he can't promise that kind of money.

"Come on without the help of these three your princess might die." Nami played with the man.

"It's highway robbery." Rose joked.

"If you save her you can negotiate with her yourself!"

"Are you asking us to save the girl first? Fine we'll take care of it." Nami told the man

"Alright you three go get'em" Nami instructed.

"Why us!"

"I'm not some part of your money making scheme." Zoro told Nami.

"The money may be mine but the contract is for the whole crew, so get to work."

"What kind of logic is that?!" I yelled.

Nami, Zoro and I had screaming match in the street for a while before Nami pulled out her trump card.

"You still owe me that money from Loguetown Zoro. Are you saying you can't keep a promise? If you do this we can call it even."

"Are you extorting my Zoro?!" Rose yelled

Zoro and Rose ran off to go help the girl, and wipe away the debt. I followed them, there's no point in arguing money with Nami.

By the time I caught up to them Zoro was screaming something about booger and Rose was telling the princess we had come to save her.

"Doesn't matter why you're here you in our way." Mr.5 said

"ZORO!" I looked to the back of the street and saw Luffy screaming the swordsman's name.

"What is it? I don't need your help I've already got plenty." Zoro spoke back

"I'll never forgive you! FIGHT ME!"

"WHAT?!" all three of us yelled.

"Stop spouting off idiotic nonsense!" I yelled at my friend.

"You shut up!" _Excuse Me? _"That ungrateful Bastard needs to get his ass kicked! How dare you cut up all those townspeople? They were really nice and gave us food!"

_He's an idiot. Doesn't even know the full story._

"Listen Luffy those people were actually…" Zoro tried to explain but Luffy punched at him instead.

Luffy and Zoro ran back into buildings fighting each other while Rose and I stayed with the princess.

"It appears those two won't be interfering. Let finish the mission. Move out Miss Valentine."

"Roger Mr.5!" The two charged at us.

"Back off!" I slammed my whip into the two sending them flying back.

When the dust cleared the woman was floating in the air.

"I'm going to crush you now, with my Kilo-Kilo Fruit powers. Right now I'm light enough to float on a gentle breeze, but now I can change my weight to 10,000 kg and bury you in the ground." Miss Valentine said from the sky as she slowly started to descend.

The woman was speeding right towards Rose. Rose looked up and right before the women landed jumped back "Your too heavy your attacks easy to avoid, when you weigh that much you can't change direction in the air."

Zoro and Luffy were still fighting in the middle of the street, getting in everyone's way.

"I want to run but I don't even know if it's safe to pass." The princess mumbled.

"You can try and go if you want but I wouldn't recommend getting between those two." Rose told her "also we're supposed to protect you should stick close."

The girl ignored my sister and walked forward only to have Luffy and Zoro burst out of the walls and attacked each other barley missing the princess. I looked back and saw Mr.5 and Miss Valentine pulling themselves up and charging towards Luffy and Zoro.

Rose and I turned around "God you two are so annoying." We both sent the two flying with various attacks "You're in the way!"

"They're so annoying!" Rose said

"Who the hell are these people?" I asked still confused.

"Baroque Works."

"Never heard of them."

I looked back and saw that Nami had broken up the fight between Luffy and Zoro. She berated them for almost costing her money.

"Why did you save me? Who are you people?" Vivi asked us.

"Oh you don't know anything yet. How about you and I make a contract?" Nami asked dragging a still bickering Luffy and Zoro.

* * *

After sitting Luffy down we explained what had happened and he calmed down. Nami continued to pester the princess for a reward.

"I refuse. Thank you for your help but no." Vivi told Nami.

"But you're a princess a billion should by pocket change." Nami pleaded.

"I need to get home. I have to stop Baroque Works. They're the ones inciting a revolution in my country." the girl said with a sad face.

She explained she had gone undercover with Igaram to discover who was leading the organization trying to tear down her country. She wanted to get home to stop them and save her people. Nami understood why she couldn't offer her money and gave up.

"So who's the boss?" I asked.

"You mean his true identity! You don't wanna know. If you did know Baroque works would come after you." Vivi warned.

"Yeah best leave us out of it." Nami sighed.

"Yeah good. No matter how strong you may be your no match for Crocodile, one of the seven warlords."

_Did she just?_

"Did you just say his name?" Zoro deadpanned.

A bird and a monkey flew off after staring us down.

Nami was flipping out "We just entered the Grand Line and we're already being targeted by a warlord. Been great traveling with you. They don't know my face I'm running away. Bye!"

Nami barely got ten steps away when she saw that the monkey had drawn pictures of us.

"Now I can't run away!"

"Well then all five of us are on their hit list now." Zoro said.

"Well things are gonna get interesting." I smiled.

"This is so cool!" Luffy cheered.

Vivi was consoling Nami trying to make her feel better.

"Fear not" We looked back and saw Vivi friend Igaram.

He was dressed up to look like Vivi and was carrying five dummies. He said he was going to take a different route with the dummies to throw Baroque Works off our tail. He asked us to take Vivi home.

"Sure. We'll do it." Luffy told the man.

"Good alright then princess please hand me the Eternal Pose." Igaram asked Vivi.

He explained that an Eternal Pose was a log that had permanently recorded an island's magnetic field.

"Take care princess. May we meet again in our home land." Igaram said turning toward his ship.

"Aww he left he was such a funny guy." Luffy said waving.

"Sure Luffy come on let's get going." I tugged at his shirt.

When we turned to leave there was a huge explosion. The ship that had just left exploded leaving a huge flaming wreck. The fire illuminated the whole shore. Everyone looked pretty shocked. Luffy started screaming at the fire.

"We have to leave! Nami how's the log?" I turned and asked.

"It's set let's go!"

"Luffy go get Sanji and Usopp. Zoro, Rose we're getting the ship ready." I said running back to the boat.

When we got back the three of us were running around setting ropes and pulling up the anchor. It wasn't long before Luffy arrived with the chef and the sniper dragging them behind him.

"Luffy get on we're leaving. Nami let's go what's the hold up!" I saw Nami and Vivi were arguing on the beach.

"She says she won't leave without her duck." Nami explained.

"You mean this thing" Rose pointed out.

"He was here when we got back." Zoro told them.

We lowered the sails and pulled away from the island.

"How many people are going to be coming after us?" Luffy asked.

"I'm not sure. Baroque works is rumored to have 2000 people working for them." Vivi explained.

Sanji and Usopp woke up and started screaming about why we had left the island. Nami knocked the two out saying she would explain the situation to them later.

"You should be careful of the rocks along the shore. Congrats on escaping by the way."

We all turned to see a women sitting on the railing. She was wearing a purple cowboy hat along with a skirt and vest, both of which were also purple. She had tanned skin and looked to be older than me and rose, probably in her late 20's, about 28 or 29.

_She's very pretty. She smells like a field of flowers. _

"I just meet up with Mr.8."

Vivi started trembling "What are you doing here Miss All-Sunday?"

"Who's her partner?" Rose asked.

"She's Mr.0's partner. Igaram and I trailed her to find out the boss' identity."

"Actually." The women spoke "I let you follow me."

_So she's an ally?_

"Why are you on my ship?" I said looking at the woman with a raised eyebrow.

I looked up and saw Sanji and Usopp holding Weapons at the woman's face. No sooner did the two arrive then they were thrown over the railing.

"Please don't point such dangerous things at me."

_A Devil Fruit?_

"You still didn't answer me Beautiful. What are you doing on my ship?!" I said staring the woman down.

"Relax Handsome" She smiled at me "I'm not here on orders and I have no intention of fighting you."

"So you're the captain? Mr. Steve. How unfortunate your tiny crew has to babysit a princess." She sighed "The real tragedy is where your log is pointed. Your next destination is Little Garden."

She threw a device to Vivi "That will take you to an island just outside of Alabasta. No one will follow you if you take that route."

"It's probably a trap." Zoro said

Nami was excited about being able to skip most of the journey. Vivi was holding the Pose thinking hard about what to do.

"Give that here." I grabbed the Pose from Vivi and crushed it in my fist, glass dug into my hand.

Nami kicked me but I ignored her "I don't care how beautiful you are; you don't decide where this ship goes!"

The women laughed "I see… Well I do like bold men. I do hope we meet again Steve, if you survive."

_Was she just flirting with me?_

Miss All-Sunday jumped off the ship and landed on a turtle that swam away.

Vivi was having a crisis on the floor with Nami and Rose consoling her.

Zoro walked up to me. "The lady was strange, I don't trust her."

Luffy walked up to us as well "I think she liked you."

I could feel the blood rush to my face "What are you talking about twerp go eat or something."

"Let's set sail, onward to Little Garden." Luffy yelled.

* * *

**Robin's POV**

I was my way back to Rainbase.

_You are certainly very intriguing, Steve. Very cute too._

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for Reading. Feedback is appreciated.**

**I decided to go with standard 28 year-old Robin because that's was my original idea. Sorry if that upsets you. **

**Also if anyone sees that Bioshock Infinite reference in this chapter, Good for you.**


	24. Chapter 24: Giants

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We had sailed form Whisky Peak with our next destination set to Little Garden. I wasn't sure why Miss All-Sunday had told us to avoid that island, and it bothered me.

_Why can't I get that woman out of my head?_

"Anybody up for drinks?" Sanji said stepping out of the kitchen with a tray of fizzy blue drinks.

Sanji was actually kind enough to offer the men drinks as well. We even offered Carue, Vivi's pet duck a couple.

"Hey look a dolphin." Rose pointed to the distance where the aquatic mammal had breached the surface.

As the creature got further out of the water it appeared to get bigger and bigger.

"IT'S HUGE!"

"Let's Go!" Luffy commanded.

We all ran around the deck moving the sails and turning the rudder to take advantage of the wave created by the dolphin. We caught the wave and got even closer to our destination, Little Garden.

* * *

We got closer to the island and once again sailed up river towards the center of the island.

"You don't think there're monsters do you?" Usopp asked.

"Don't know but I hope there are people because we need to stock up on food." Sanji told him.

"What's with the look on your face?" Vivi asked me

"Nothing, just wondering what's so special about this place that Miss All-Sunday had to warn us about it." I told her what was troubling me.

"It's bothering me to." She replied.

"I don't see anything little about this island." Rose complained.

Just as Rose finished her statement a loud bird call came from the forest. Then a huge bird flew out of the jungle and over the ship terrifying most of the crew. It was odd the bird also looked somewhat like a lizard.

As the bird flew off there was a huge roar from the jungle. A tiger the almost as big as The Going Merry stepped out of the jungle and dropped dead.

_This place is a deathtrap._

"That's it this island's not normal. We're staying on the ship and waiting for the Log to reset." Nami said sitting down in a lounge chair.

"Sanji prepare a lunchbox. I smell adventure." Luffy said walking to the edge of the ship.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked him.

"On an adventure wanna come?" Luffy asked.

"No."

"May I come with you?" Vivi asked.

_Is she insane?_

"Not you to." Nami moaned.

"Yes. If I just sit around here I'll only think about my troubles, at least if I get off the ship I can keep my mind off things, besides Carue will be with me." Vivi explained.

"Wow your 'trusty steed' is too scared to quack." Rose said poking at the bird who looked terrified.

Sanji brought out the food for Luffy and Vivi and they went off to explore the jungle. Zoro said he was going to go out for a walk.

"You're not really going out there are you?" Rose begged the man to stay.

"Hey, Zoro wait a sec. Listen were a little low on food so see if you can catch anything." The chef requested.

"Sure I'll catch something you never could." Zoro gloated walking away.

That sent Sanji off the deep end. The two started bickering about who could bring back more meat. They challenged each other to a hunting competition to see who could get the biggest catch.

"I say we make this a three man competition" I said jumping off the boat "I'll crush you two.

"Whoever brings back the most meat wins" We said laying down the rules for our game.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"Are you three abandoning us?!" I yelled after the boys but they didn't give me a response

"It's just us. We're the only sane ones." Nami said

"No need to fear girls I'm by your side." Usopp reassured us

"We're doomed." Nami and I said accepting our deaths

Nami went back inside to look for a book she thought might have something about the island in it. That left me and Usopp alone to watch for big monsters.

"Keep an eye out I don't want the ship to get squished." I told Usopp walking around the ship

Nami burst out onto the deck with the book in her hand but before she got the chance to tell us what she had learned we were rudely interrupted when a shadow was cast over the ship.

A shaking Usopp wheezed out "Tur…Turn around"

I slowly turned me body.

_Please don't be…_

Once in finished my 180 turn I saw it.

"GIANT!" I screamed and then I blacked out.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

I wandered through the jungle looking for something to bring back to the ship for food. Every once in a while I heard growls behind me, but when I turned there was nothing there. I took my whips out just in case and was left alone with my thoughts. Most of which were about Miss All-Sunday

_Just who was that lady? She looked kinda familiar. Why can't I get her out of my head? She sure was pretty and I think she was putting out some signals to. Stop Steve you can't think like that. You saw her she looked like she was almost thirty. She's too old for you. Then again some women like younger men. AHHH what's happening to me! She's your enemy. She works for Crocodile, No falling in love with the enemy._

I slapped myself to wake up from my trance. When I looked up I saw I was surrounded by a pack of small overgrown lizards. They reminded me of the raptors I read about in a book once. There were six in front of me and they all looked ready to attack.

"Alright you're all gonna gang up on me?" I looked around the lizards only responded with hisses and growls.

"Fine you asked for it!" the raptors closed in and I jumped in to the air "Here we go! **Whip Hurricane!**" I swung as fast and as much as I could, creating a flurry of whip strikes in a similar style to Luffy's **Gatling**.

"You done?" the raptors didn't answer.

I had cracked most of their skulls with the attack, killing them. I used my whips to tie the animals together by their tails to make transportation easier.

"Best head back to show the two losers what a winner looks like." I said heading to the ship dragging my catch behind me.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

_Where am I? What happened?_

When I opened my eyes I saw Nami and Usopp siting on a log talking to…A GIANT!

_Don't panic just stay calm. Deep breaths. You can do this. You're just seeing things._

I opened my eyes again and nearly had a heart attack. I snapped my eyes shut for a second time.

_If I didn't see that freak this wouldn't be a problem. Wait…That's it._

I reached into my jacket and pulled out one of Zoro's old bandanas and tied it over my eyes. This time when I opened them I didn't see anything.

_Much better._

I stood up but moved slowly trying not to trip.

"What are you doing?" I heard Nami ask.

"Trying to get over to you give me some help here I can't see." I felt Nami but her hand on my arm and guide me to a seat.

"Why is your friend wearing a blindfold?" I heard an unfamiliar voice ask.

"I'd like to know that to." I heard Usopp ask.

"If I don't see it I can't pass out." I explained.

"Oh that makes sense." Usopp understood my attempt to combat my fear.

"I don't" I heard the voice of the giant ask.

"You see Rose here is afraid of giant things like you Mr. Brogy. So to remain calm she's blocked her view." Nami explained to the giant who I now knew was called Broggy.

"Nothing against giant kind sir. I just wish you'd all shrink." I told him

_I'm not some Giant racist…Or are they a different species. I'm not a species-cist._

"How long will the log take to reset?" Nami asked

"One full year."

_We're doomed._

I heard Nami and Usopp fall down in shock likely thinking like I was. Suddenly there was a huge rumbling noise.

"It's time." I heard the Brogy standup "I have a duel to go to but please feel free to stay."

The ground shook as the giant walked. I took the opportunity to take off my blindfold. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. When they did I saw that we were near a cave in the jungle.

"He took it right on the head!" Usopp yelled.

I could hear the banging of metal behind m but I was too nervous to turn around.

"What's happening?" I asked Nami

"Two giants are fighting." She explained "I suggest you not turn around."

"Let's take this opportunity to go." I begged but Usopp refused to leave.

"This is a man's duel. A battle of pride between two warriors!" He cheered.

"Well them I'm taking Rose back to the ship" Nami told him.

"Go I'm going to stay here. I wanna be just like them one day."

"You want to be a giant!" I yelled

"No! I want to be a brave warrior." He told me.

I took a seat back down on the log "Let's not get split up we can wait for Usopp."

The giant returned shortly after and sat down. Before he did I retied my blindfold.

"I'm gonna be like you one day, a brave warrior of the sea." Usopp told the giant.

"To be a warrior of Elbaf is to die without losing our pride. Pride is our greatest treasure." Brogy told Usopp.

Thought I heard a very faint boom in the distance but I couldn't see since the blindfold was covering my eyes.

_Must be hearing things._

* * *

**Steve's POV**

I arrived back at our meeting spot and I found Sanji and Zoro each with animals of their own. They were already arguing about who had more meat when I walked up.

"I caught the most so I win." I gloated.

"What are you talking about just because you got multiple lizards doesn't mean there's more meat." Sanji told me.

"Mine weighs more. You both lose." Zoro said.

We got into a long argument over who was the rightful winner of the contest.

"All right whoever makes the next catch and brings it back before the volcano erupts again will be the winner." I said starting the next round.

We each went out into the forest again. While inside I saw someone standing in the trees. It looked a lot like Vivi. I went towards the girl.

"Where's Luffy and why did he leave you alone?" I asked her but she didn't answer.

_Did she not hear me?_

When I got closer I touched Vivi and she crumbled to dust.

_A Trap!_

"You fell for it."

I felt something bonk my head and knock me out.

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**

**Also if you didn't see I made and edit to the last chapter. Robin is now 28 again.**

**Sorry if that bothers you but it was my original plan to have her be that much older than Steve and I decided to go back to that.**


	25. Chapter 25: Disgraced Duel

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks.**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

Usopp kept cheering on his 'master' while Nami and I sat waiting to leave.

"Let's go to the other giant's house and go see Luffy." Nami said.

Nami helped me stand up and pulled along the 'Great warrior of the sea' that was with us. Since we were away from the giants I took of my blindfold while we walked through the jungle.

"Where is this other giant's house?" I asked Nami.

"I'm not really sure I think it's on the other side of the mountain." Nami told me.

There was loud breathing coming from behind us. When we all turned around to see what was making the noise we we're met with a large dinosaur.

"There's a dinosaur!" I yelled as we ran from the reptile.

_Can't pass out. Can't stop running. Don't get eaten._

When I looked up Usopp was in front of me and Nami was nowhere to be found. There was another roar I picked up my pace.

_I'll sing tales of your valor friend._

"Luffy!" Usopp yelled "Nami got eaten."

"Luffy! Help!" I whined.

We all started hysterically yelling until Vivi managed to calm us down. We came to the conclusion there might be some Baroque works agents on the island with us and Nami might not be dead. Vivi and Luffy explained that the alcohol they gave to the other giant had exploded when he drank it. Usopp became angry because the giant duel was going to be decided by outside interference.

In the distance I heard the giants' duel coming to an end. Luffy wasn't happy with the outcome.

"WHO DID IT?!"

"Luffy calm down." We all tried to get Luffy to relax but he was to upset.

"Luffy your stuck under that thing let us take care of finding out who did this." I told my friend.

"You don't have to go anywhere, we're right here." I turned around and saw Mr.5 the bomb man from Whisky Peak.

The man and his partner emerged from the forest carrying Vivi's duck, Carue. He didn't look like he was in good shape.

"What did he ever do to you?" Vivi asked.

"That's just it…He didn't do anything. No matter how hard I tried to get him to call out for you he wouldn't do it." Mr.5 explained.

While they were talking I quietly walked around behind the two waiting for a moment to strike.

"Are you the ones who tampered with the giants' duel?" Usopp asked them.

"Yeah so what? Is he on the list Miss Valentine?"

"No but if he's clearly there friend so we should take care of him two." She told her partner.

"You won't be killing anyone." I jumped out and stabbed Miss Valentine in the shoulder.

"Your oftly loud for an assassin." Mr.5 said as he grabbed my face.

"**Exploding Palm!"**

Mr.5's hand exploded and blew me to the ground. He then ran up to me with a kick.

"**Concussive Kick!"**

The explosion sent me flying into the giant rock holding Luffy down.

"Rose!"

"You need to pay more attention Miss Valentine, she almost killed you." I heard Mr.5 scold his partner

Usopp and Vivi tried to avenge my defeat but were severely outmatched. Usopp got shot by Mr.5 and crushed under Miss Valentine.

Mr.5 grabbed Vivi by the throat "Don't worry I'm not here to kill you, Mr.3 wants you alive."

_There are more here._

"You mean he's here, Mr.3 the Wax-Wax man?" Vivi asked.

"Yep the man can make anything out of wax; some people call him the candle man." Mr.5 explained.

Mr.5 exacted his revenge by kicking Luffy in the face multiple times. They walked off with Vivi after nearly killing Luffy, Usopp, and I.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Mr.5 threw me, Zoro and Nami to the ground. I looked up and saw Vivi also had an ankle weight just like us.

"Vivi your supposed to be with Luffy." Nami told the princess.

"You mean the rubber kid." Mr.5 said "I already killed him, the long nose, and the girl with the blue hair."

"Really? You killed Luffy and Rose?" I asked the man.

I was skeptical that this guy was anywhere near capable of killing those two.

"Set them up you two." A guy with really bad hair instructed Mr.5 and Miss Valentine.

"Sure Mr.3" The two said picking the four of us up.

The placed us on a giant wax platform Mr.3 had made out of nothing.

_He must have Devil Fruit powers._

There was a giant spinning object at the top of the platform we had been placed on.

"I feel like a decoration on a cake." Zoro joked.

"Something's falling down." Vivi pointed out.

"That falling mist will turn you into a candle soon." Mr.3 explained "Now die for the sake of my art."

Nami begged the giant that was stuck to the floor to help us, but the man was imprisoned and had no way to assist us.

"Why ask him for help?" Mr.3 asked "This man cut down his own best friend with no mercy. He couldn't even tell the other giant was injured."

"You don't know the real meaning of our fight at all. You want me to destroy the pride of a warrior who was risking his life!" the giant yelled.

The giant became angry and broke out of his wax bindings.

_Angry giants are scary. I see where Rose is coming from. I just assumed she was afraid of them because there so much bigger.  
_The giant was shot by Mr.5 causing him to fall back down and causing his hands to be impaled by Mr.3. Despite being in obvious pain the giant known as Broggy continued to fight to break free. As a result Mr.3 increased the speed of his machine to turn us into candles faster. The falling mist made it difficult to breath. We were in danger if we didn't hurry we'd be candles soon.

"Steve, Zoro do something." Nami pleaded.

Zoro struggled to take out his sword but managed to unsheathe it.

"It's better to lose an arm or a leg than die right?" Zoro asked the giant.

_What is he thinking?_

"I'll cut off my legs so I can escape." Zoro said.

"Are you insane?!" We all yelled at him

"You'll never know unless you try." He said acting like it was no big deal.

"Your very brave swordsman." The giant said "Your right let's do it. Let's fight back."

"Doesn't matter if I have no legs, my heart will never give up." Zoro said.

"Lame catchphrases too." I added "Fine lose your legs I don't care. But as far as I'm concerned you're an idiot."

_He's gonna kill himself one day._

Just as Zoro started to cut himself a group burst from the trees. Luffy, Usopp, Rose and Vivi's duck arrived to help us out. Only they ran right past Baroque Works and crashed into the trees.

"Let's take care of them." Luffy said standing up.

"Just crush them so we can get out of this thing." I told the new arrivals.

"Consider it done." Rose responded.

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**

**Sorry this is a little shorter than usual. I have some stuff to do today.**

**Also I'm sticking to my guns when it comes to Robin. She's staying her accurate age. If you think that's weird, Sorry but I'm staying with my original vision. In all accuracy weird relationships like this already exist in One Piece. **

**Hancock loves Luffy despite the fact pre-skip she's 29 and Luffy's 17. That's 12 years difference and no one ever really points that out.**

**Steve's 18 and Robin's 28 that's only a 10 year difference. Slightly less.**

**Since a relationship like this almost exists in the canon I feel justified.**


	26. Chapter 26: Assassin

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"Destroy this thing so we don't turn into candles." Nami yelled.

_What the hell is that?_

There were four people working against us; Mr.5, Miss Valentine, Mr.3 and his partner.

"I killed you." Mr.5 was surprised to see Luffy still breathing.

"Clearly you didn't this time I will deal with Strawhat, you deal with the other two." Mr.3 told him.

"Don't worry I've got you back…From way over here." Usopp said.

"What was that?" I asked.

I looked back and saw that Luffy's legs had been locked together by a wax bar. Before Mr.3 had the chance to lock his arms Luffy swung off the sword holding the giant down and knocked over part of the tower trapping our friends.

_Oh the giants over….there. Don't think about it focus on Baroque works. He can't hurt me if he's tied down like that._

"Luffy that was great and all but we're still stuck." I heard Steve tell his friend "You needed to destroy the thing holding us not the part holding the wax maker."

The next time Mr.3 went after Luffy Usopp attempted to shoot him only to have Mr.5 eat the bullet.

"**10,000 Kilogram Guillotine!" **The second I looked up I saw Miss Valentine hurdling towards me.

I jumped back to avoid the attack and ran in once she had crashed into the ground **"Sickle Claw!" **I swung with five curved blades but she blocked me with her umbrella. She changed he weight so when I hit her she got sent flying back.

_How sturdy is that umbrella, my knife should have cut it apart._

"Good job Luffy! Now destroy the pumpkin making the wax mist." I heard Steve yell.

When I looked over I saw Luffy had gotten past Mr.3 and was inched from freeing our friends.

"No."

_What! Luffy never tells Steve no._

"Luffy this isn't playtime get them out of there." I yelled.

"I don't wanna. I don't feel like helping you." Luffy told me.

"**Colors Trap."** The little girl explained.

"What is going on?" Usopp asked me

"I don't know."

"Take a look under your friend's foot." Miss Valentine pointed out that Luffy was stepping on a symbol painted on the ground.

Usopp was almost taken out by Mr.5 while he had been looking at Luffy but managed to avoid the surprise attack and run into the forest leaving me to deal with Miss Valentine.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

_No matter what I do Luffy won't do what I say. He just does the opposite. He needs to get off the symbol._

"Black is the color of betrayal. He only hears the opposite." Miss Goldenweek explained.

_Opposite?_

"Luffy get away from that thing!" Nami yelled

"No that's wrong." I told her

"What?"

"Luffy listen. I want you to stand still. Don't move at all." I told him

_Hope this works._

Luffy stepped off the symbol doing the opposite of what I told him. Luffy started laughing hysterically.

"**Laughter Yellow" **

Luffy was too busy laughing to help us out of our situation. Usopp and Carue were behind Luffy running from Mr.5.

"Usopp you have to get Luffy's shirt off!" Nami yelled.

We were running out of time, it was getting harder to breath and almost impossible to move. Luffy kept getting different colors on him. He attacked the ground, and he even took a tea break.

"Get up!" we all yelled.

"Told you to get into a good pose." Zoro mocked us.

"Screw you!" the girls and I yelled back.

I was about to yell something to Luffy but my mouth wouldn't move.

_I can't talk….And now I can't see. Am I dead?_

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"Move." I told Miss Valentine.

Usopp had run off to find Luffy and I was tuck dealing with this lady. I needed to get back to the others before they got turned to candles.

"**10,000 Kilogram Axe!" **She picked he leg up and tried to crush my skull with an axe kick.

While she was recovering from her kick I attempted to take her down.

"**Knife Rain!" **I threw a hail of blades at the women but she shifted he weight to avoid the attack.

"Sit still dammit." I yelled.

Miss Valentine floated back towards the tower imprisoning my friends. I followed her back and found the others in bad shape. Steve, Zoro, Nami, and Vivi we're all frozen in wax. Usopp and the duck were on the ground covered in dust and burns. And for some reason Luffy had no shirt on.

"You're too late. Your friends are finished, you must feel disappointed." Mr.3 gloated as he constructed a huge suit of armor out of wax.

"**Candle Champion!"**

Luffy got distracted by the suit and Usopp had to get him to focus. I sunk around behind Mr.5 and his partner.

_This time I won't fail._

I burst out and focused my attack on Miss Valentine.

"**Sunset Shower!" **Before she even hit the ground she was finished.

"What the?" Mr.5 turned around but I already had a knife to his neck.

"Breath wrong and you die." I told him "Drop the gun."

"Don't get cocky." Mr.5 dropped the gun but when he did he snapped his fingers creating an explosion that knocked me back.

He ran forward and grabbed be by the color of my jacket.

He smirked "I'm gonna blow each of my fingers one at a time and make you demise slow."

"Run Carue!" I saw Usopp send the duck running around the wax sculpture with a rope in its mouth.

"Luffy you have to burn the rope!" Usopp yelled.

Luffy dragged Mr.3 and his flaming hair over to the rope and lit it. The entire structure was set aflame. The whole thing started coming down with wax flying everywhere.

"Your times up!" Mr.5 pulled his fingers back and got ready to blow me up.

"**Flaming Oni Giri!" "Fire Snake!"**

Mr.5 suddenly collapsed in a heap after being sliced and beaten by Zoro and Steve.

"Thank you!" I said running up to Zoro with a smile. I heard Steve grumble next to us.

"Nice to see me getting thanks again." Steve said all pissed off

* * *

**Steve's POV**

After we escaped from the flaming platform Zoro, Nami, Vivi and I helped the others. Nami had lost her shirt escaping from the fire but mine remained intact despite a few marks. Luffy and the duck ran off to find and finish Mr.3 and his partner.

"Seems I passed out for a bit." A voice bellowed from behind the trees.

Usopp and the giant began crying over the arrival of a second giant. Apparently they thought the man had been killed but since the weapons the giants used were so dull he was spared. Vivi got all upset saying this wouldn't have happened if she didn't come to the island but Nami reassured her it wasn't her fault. Out main problem now was finding a way to the next island. We couldn't wait a year for the log to set we would have to find a different way. Even the giants had no way to help us.

"NAMI! ROSE! VIVI! You're okay!" We all turned to see Sanji finally arrive.

"Now he shows up." Zoro, Usopp and I complained about the cook's tardiness.

Sanji explained that he had an interaction over the phone with Mr.0. He was mistaken for Mr.3 and convinced Crocodile that we were dead.

"Oh and I got this to" he said showing us and Eternal Pose to Alabasta.

_We're saved._

The rest of us were speechless. Vivi was so thankful for Sanji saving the day that she gave him a hug. Luffy wanted to throw a party but I put a stop to that.

"No we need to get Vivi home as soon as possible, everybody get ready we're leaving now." I said gathering my things.

Luffy was upset we couldn't stay but when I told him he could have a party on the ship once we got out to sea he ran back right then.

On our walk back Sanji brought up our little contest. When we got back there was another argument over who had won but Nami said since we couldn't bring all the meat that it didn't matter.

"I still won." I mumbled as I climbed back onboard.

"I heard that!" Zoro yelled from under me.

* * *

When we made it to the mouth of the river the giants were standing at the shore.

"There is one more obstacle standing in your way before you can leave this place, no matter what only sail straight." They told us.

"You got it!" Luffy yelled back "Straight."

The water in front of us parted to revel a giant fish blocking our path.

"What is that thing?!" Rose yelled cringing behind a stack of boxes.

"Usopp turn the helm or we're gonna crash." Nami yelled.

"No we can't right Luffy?" Usopp asked.

"Yep we're going straight!"

"You're sure we can trust those giants right?" I asked Luffy.

"Yeah!" he responded as we were swallowed by the fish.

_Hope your right._

The center of the fish suddenly exploded freeing us and launching us forward out to sea.

"Incredible." I was amazed by what had just happened. They really had helped us out.

"Let's Go!" Luffy yelled "To Alabasta!"

* * *

**Robin's POV**

"Miss All-Sunday, send Mr.2 to Little Garden. Have him kill Mr.3"

"That's awfully violent. And besides didn't I hear Mr.3 succeeded, why kill him." I asked

"He may have succeeded but he lied to me, I won't tolerate that. And don't you dare talk back to me."

"It will be done at once, Sir Crocodile." I said walking out of the room

_So their dead. Why does that make me feel sad? You didn't seem that weak._

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for Reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	27. Chapter 27: Sick Navigator

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

After escaping the giant fish we headed towards Alabasta. Luffy and Usopp were as cheerful as ever. I was at the front of the ship looking out to sea thinking of something to do. Rose was shooting darts while Zoro lifted weights, shirtless.

_Just put a shirt on! It's like he wants her to stare at him. I thought he didn't like her?_

"Everyone! There's an emergency!" I heard Vivi yell from the lower portion of the deck

I ran over to the railing to see what the problem was. Nami was on the floor panting and covered in sweat.

"Nami has a really high fever!" Vivi explained.

"Sanji help me carry her inside." The cook and I gently lifted the sick navigator and brought her inside to her room.

Vivi explained that people get sick very easily on The Grand Line because of the changing climates. Since none of us besides Nami have any medical skills we were going to have to do something.

"She'll get better if she eats some meat!" Luffy said

_I don't have time to deal with this._

I picked Luffy up and threw him out onto the deck "Go play or something. Let the adults talk."

"Her fever keeps climbing!" Vivi said worriedly.

"How much longer till we get to Alabasta?" I asked the girl.

"I'm not entirely sure, at least a week."

_She doesn't have that kind of time._

"We're going to find a doctor first. I'm sorry Vivi I know getting you home is important but the health of my crew has to come first." I explained to the girl.

I know Vivi wants to go home but the people who are permeant members of this ship have to come first. I won't let someone die just because one girl wanted a ride home.

"No…" Nami squeaked out "There's a newspaper on my desk."

Vivi went over to the desk and picked up the paper. She read through the headlines and gasped. Apparently some of the royal forces changed sides and joined the rebel army.

"That paper is three days old. I didn't want to worry you since we were sailing as fast as we could." Nami told Vivi "Do you understand Steve."

"Yes it appears the situation has become quite dire. But I don't care about Alabasta that has nothing to do with me. You're a member of my crew and that comes first." I told the girl.

"I'm fine I can get better on my own." Nami said getting out of bed despite my protest.

_Damn her stubbornness._

Vivi was upset over her conflicting feelings of getting home and helping Nami.

"Time to grow up and learn the world isn't all sunshine Vivi. Accept the fact you'll have to make tough choices in life. Not everyone will be happy with them. If you ever plan to take over Alabasta you need to learn that lesson quickly." I told her "You need to understand you are a guest on my ship and not in a position to make demands."

I left her to go and try and convince Nami to get back in bed. When I got on deck the others were running around and tying things down and turning the ship. Vivi wasn't too far behind me.

"I have a request." Vivi asked "We need to head for my country as fast as possible. In order to do that please let's find an island with a doctor. Nami needs to be in top shape if we want to go as fast as possible.

"You got it!" Luffy answered "As fast as possible."

"AHHHH!" Rose screamed and pointed out that there was a huge cyclone not too far away from us.

"Let's keep going south towards Alabasta and look for other islands along the way." I instructed.

* * *

We sailed for a whole day and there were still no islands in sight and Nami was getting worse. It had started snowing in the middle of the night.

"Think someone can stand on water?" Zoro yelled down.

"What are you talking about?" Usopp asked

"That." He pointed out to sea where a man was standing on the water.

_I'll be. How's he doing that?_

"Cold out isn't it?" The man asked.

_It talked._

All of the sudden a ship erupted out from underneath the man sending our ship rocking into the waves.

"What the hell!"

"Has my submersible ship left you speechless?" A man covered in tin plates asked us from the deck of his ship.

An entire army of pirates stormed our ship and pointed gun barrels at all of us on the deck. Sanji came up out from the room Nami was I only to get ambushed himself.

"That makes six, there can't only be six people on this ship." The tin man thought as he bit into a sword.

_What's with this guy. _

"Let me ask you folks something" The man was talking with his mouthful "We're looking for Drum Kingdom, you don't happen to have an Eternal Pose or Log Pose do you?"

"No never heard of it." Sanji told the man.

"If you're done hurry up and leave!" Luffy yelled at the man.

"Hang on I'm a little hungry" The man said as he devoured a huge portion of our ship.

"What the hell is with this guy!" Usopp screamed.

"Don't eat my ship!" Luffy yelled as he charged at the man.

"Why didn't we do this from the beginning?" Zoro asked.

"This is the fun way!" Rose yelled

We easily took down the main force. Luffy on the other hand got chomped by the tin man.

"Luffy!" Usopp yelled in fear alerting us to Luffy predicament.

"Tough, way to chewy." The man complained as he ate my friend.

Luffy's arms were stretched out of the mouth and kept flying back.

"Get off my ship!" Luffy sent the man flying when his arms returned back to his body.

The man's crew returned to the ship to go and rescue their captain since he couldn't swim.

_That was he ate must have been a Devil Fruit._

The rest of us went back to random things while Usopp fixed the damage caused by that pirate.

_I think I heard his crew call him Wapol. Never heard of him._

By evening of the second day of Nami's illness and we still hadn't found an island.

"It's been so cold lately." Rose said putting on her heavy blue jacket.

"It's probably because we're near a winter island." Vivi explained how climates on the Grand Line worked.

"She's right." Sanji said looking through binoculars "I see an island."

_Thank God._

"Let's hope there's a doctor." I said.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**

**I move back to school Tuesday so this weekend may be difficult to get chapters up but I'll try. Don't worry though once I get settled at school I'll get back to longer updates.**


	28. Chapter 28: A Mountain of Problems

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"It's so white. This must be a snow island!" Luffy yelled.

"Listen up Luffy; we don't have any time for an adventure. We're finding a doctor to treat Nami and then we're leaving." I tried to tell my friend but he was already lost in a daydream.

"Let's get ready to dock everyone!"

As we approached the island a large mountain range came into view. They were so big and round they looked like tree trunks.

"Luffy you should put a coat on it's cold out here." I instructed my friend

"It's negative ten degrees. That's hibernation temperatures." Vivi pointed out.

"Brrr it's cold."

_Wow._

"Who's going to look for a doctor?" Zoro asked

"Well first we need to find out if they're even people on this island." Rose told him

"I'm going." Luffy and I both said at the same time.

"Me too!" Sanji quickly joined us.

"Stop! Pirates."

We looked to the shore and saw a large crowd of people had gathered and they didn't appear to be very welcoming.

_This won't be like Whisky Peak. And we don't have time to waste._

"This doesn't look to good." Usopp said.

"You will turn around and leave this island." A man instructed us.

_I can't leave; we need to find a doctor. But we can't afford to attack a whole village over it._

"We're looking for a doctor." Luffy asked them.

"Please we have a sick person onboard" Vivi pleaded with the people but they wouldn't listen

_Everything is going south._

I don't know what Sanji did but it pissed them off. Someone in the crowd shot at him and he barely got out of the way in time.

_Crap!_

"Now you pissed me off…" Sanji was ready to go and fight the men on the shore but Vivi attempted to hold him back.

I don't know how or why but someone opened fire and shot Vivi next.

_Oh no. __**THE HELL IS GOING ON!**_

Luffy and the rest of us were all on the same page. Someone's gonna get their ass kicked to the brink of death.

_Pissing these people off won't help Nami. We need to make them trust us._

"Stop! This isn't a problem you can solve with violence." Viv said grabbing Luffy's waist to stop him. "The bullet only grazed me. We won't get off our ship but please just call a doctor for our friend. Then we'll leave." Vivi bowed to the people on the shore.

"Your failing to carry out your duty as captain." Vivi said addressing Luffy "You can't just rush into fights."

_Who does she think she's talking to?_

Luffy got onto the ground and bowed with Vivi asking for help.

"I will lead you into town." One of the men said "but be warned our village only has one doctor and she's a witch."

The others began to walk off. Zoro and Rose were going to stay behind and watch the ship while the rest of us went into town. Before she got off the ship I pulled Vivi aside so I could have a word with her.

"Listen I don't really appreciate the way you talked to Luffy back there." I told her with a stern face "I'll say it again you are a guest on this ship, don't you dare tell Luffy or I that we are doing our jobs wrong, do you understand me?"

"You should understand that you can't solve all your problems by fighting!"

"I know that but I will be the one to make a decision like that not some princess who's borrowing my ship! Luffy and I are the captains of this crew decisions like fight or flight will be made by us not you! I would have found a way to stop Luffy myself. I knew this wasn't the time to fight and I'll make that call not you!"

"Fine! Don't talk to me!" Vivi stormed off.

I let out a calming sigh I just hope no one else gets upset if they hear about that argument we just had.

"That was a little harsh. She really didn't deserve to have you blow up at her like that" Rose said walking up to me with Zoro

"I'm just frustrated I got a lot on my mind right now. I have to get help for Nami and get her back to Alabasta"

_Not to mention I still can't get that other women out of my head_

"Maybe your just stressed out?" Zoro asked "I'm not saying you're wrong. Captains are supposed to make decisions like that but she did make the right call so it isn't that bad."

"I'm just annoyed that she makes all these request like she runs this show." I said voicing my frustrations.

"Right now none of this matters" Rose said "we need to get help for Nami. You and Vivi can settle your problems later."

"Your right I'm gonna go catch up. You two stay and watch The Merry." I gave both of them a glare "No funny business."

* * *

By the time I caught up to Luffy and the others they we're already making plans to go up the mountain and find the witch. The plan was to send Luffy and Sanji up with Luffy carrying Nami on his back.

"I'm coming with you." I told the two.

"Look who's here." I heard the annoyance in Vivi's voice.

"What took you so long?" Luffy asked me.

"Nothing just had to talk to Rose about something." I could feel Vivi glaring at my while I lied.

"Come on let's go before Nami dies!" Luffy yelled running on ahead.

"Don't say that!" Sanji yelled

"Wait for me! I said running after the two.

We trekked up the mountain as fast as we could. Sanji and I were going to be in charge of protecting Luffy and the sick Nami.

"Did you guys know that people in snow countries don't sleep?" Luffy said making conversation.

"Why's that?" Sanji asked

"Cause if they did they' die."

"Luffy that's the dumbest thing I ever heard." I told my friend.

"It's true a guy told me once." He defended

"What guy. Usopp?" Sanji asked jumping over a rabbit.

"No a guy in a bar."

"Then why was there a bed in Dalton's house?" Sanji mused.

"It's for why it's his time to die." Luffy said like it was nothing.

"That's ridiculous!" I yelled avoiding a fallen tree.

"They say women from snow countries have the smoothest white skin." Sanji said with hearts in his eyes

"Why are they like that?" I asked

"Because when you could you rub your skin and that makes it smooth. And the snow dyes it white."

"That's absurd. Either way I prefer tan women." I explained.

"What are those?" Sanji said stopping

"The look like polar bears" Luffy laughed.

A whole pack of these giant rabbit bear things stood in our path blocking our ascent up the mountain. Suddenly one of the monsters attacked forcing us to dodge it's sharp claws.

"These must be the Lapins Dalton told us about." Sanji yelled.

_The what?_

There were a lot of Lapins, at least twenty or more.

"Luffy leave this to me and Sanji. If you jump all over the place to much Nami may get hurt. You just dodge and keep going up, don't go down that mountain." I explained getting into a fighting stance.

"Got it!" Luffy yelled as he trudged up the snowy mountain.

Sanji and I did or best to hold back the Lapins but there were just too many for the two of us to stop only. We ran into the forest to try and shake off the killer rabbits.

"Just keep running!"

We hopped up a cliff to avoid the attacks and get closer to our destination. No matter how far we ran the Lapins just wouldn't quite. Suddenly they stopped chasing us and began jumping.

"What are they doing?" Luffy asked.

_They can't be…_

"They're trying to cause an avalanche."

The sheet of snow we were standing on began shifting slightly. The snow began barreling down the mountain destroying everything in its path.

"RUN!"

Protect Nami!" Sanji yelled "That's the most important thing, protect Nami! The second most important thing is to protect Nami. Head to that cliff!"

We out ran the snow and got to the cliff but it still wasn't high enough to avoid the snow. The snow plowed over the cliff and knocked us into the avalanche. I latched onto a tree with my whip and Luffy grabbed the same tree with his hand. Sanji held onto Luffy as the tree snapped forcing us to ride the tree down the mountain.

_This is no good we're getting further away from the doctor._

The Lapins reappeared also riding trees.

"Oh Come on!" I groaned

"Look out we're gonna hit a rock!" Sanji alerted Luffy and I to the obstacle in our path.

_Crap!_

Sanji kicked Luffy and I off the log so we could avoid our impending doom. Sanji and the tree crashed into the rock and the tree shattered.

"Sanji!"

"You idiot why'd you do that!" I screamed.

Luffy reached out for Sanji but when he pulled his hand back he only found one of his mittens.

"You hang onto Nami." Luffy handed me the girl and dove into the snow after Sanji.

"Luffy wait!" but it was too late he had already jumped down the mountain.

* * *

Fifteen minutes had passed before Luffy returned with the unconscious Sanji. Without a word we began making our way back up the mountain needing to find help for our friends. Along the way we ran across a smaller Lapin digging in the snow trying to free another trapped rabbit. I grabbed the paw sticking out of the snow and freed the trapped animal.

We trekked a little higher up the mountain before we heard someone coming up behind us.

"Lord Wapol, look it's them."

A large furry hippo stepped in our path blocking us from going up the mountain. It was carrying three men. The man who stood on the water, Wapol, and a man with bushy black hair

"Move it." Luffy told the men.

"Why do you care? The people your carrying look dead anyway."

_I don't have time to deal with these guys._

Luffy and I walked around the hippo. The men who had invaded our ship earlier said something about a new law and a death penalty.

"Now kill them!"

I moved just in time to dodge a punch and Luffy was running from a hail of arrows right towards a large gaping maw.

"Luffy look out!" I warned my friend and he turned just in time to avoid a large bite.

Luffy ran back around and came next to me. The two of us had our backs against the wall when the archer and a man with a black afro burst out of the snow. Before they had a chance to attack two Lapins appeared and swatted them away.

"That's impossible Lapins don't bond with humans!" Wapol yelled.

_Did they come to help us? They look like the ones from earlier._

"Thank you we'll leave it to you guys." I said running after Luffy who had made a break the doctor's castle.

We ran a little farther when we found the base of the mountain. It looked miles high.

"You can't even see the top." Luffy complained.

"Let's get climbing." I said finding a grip on the very jagged rock.

It took a few hours but we did eventually start to get vision of the top of the mountain. I could feel the cold in my bones. Every finger on each had been cut and bleeding from the rocks and my back was killing me from carrying Nami.

_You're a lot heavier than you look…Better never say that to her face, she'll kill me._

When Luffy and I reached the top we could only marvel at the sight. A large white castle stood atop the snow covered mountain.

_A doctor lives here?_

"We finally made it." Luffy said falling to the ground.

"It's beautiful." I said doing the same.

_All my strength's gone. I can't take another step._

I felt the snow shifting underneath us.

_Oh God it's unbalanced. We're gonna fall off the mountain._

As I felt myself slipping away I saw Luffy and Sanji start to slide off the cliff.

_Luffy move! Do something!_

Just before I passed out I saw a large man grab Luffy's arm and pull him to safety.

_Thank you._

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	29. Chapter 29: Tony Tony Chopper

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

I had woken up after a long nap. I opened my eyes and looked around the room. Luffy and Sanji we're also on beds sleeping. My hands were wrapped in bandages but I looked to be in good shape. I sat up and climbed out of bed.

_I should look for Nami._

I wandered around the place where we were staying. After traveling through multiple hallways I came across an old woman.

"Excuse me Ma'am I'm looking for my friend. She has orange hair have you seen her?" I asked the women.

"You're awake. You friend's this way." The woman said walking into a side room.

I followed the woman and found Nami awake on the bed. She looked much better than she had just a few hours before.

"Nami, I'm glad you're okay." I walked up to Nami and gave her a pleasant smile.

Nami smiled back but pretty much ignored me and stared at a doorway nearby. When I looked over there was a small furry creature trying to hide behind the wall.

"What are you doing Chopper?" the women asked as she walked up to Nami and took her temperate "You're getting better girl. I'm Dr. Kureha but you can call me Doctorine."

"Where are we?" Nami asked the woman.

"The castle at the top of the mountain." She explained

"So we did make it. It wasn't just a dream." I mumbled.

Nami asked where Luffy and Sanji where and Doctorine explained they were sleeping in the room next door. Dr. Kureha walked up to Nami and began to lift her shirt up.

"Whoa! Man in the room!" I said clamping my eyes shut.

I heard Doctorine explain that Nami had been bitten by a bug and infected with a disease long thought extinct. She said had Nami waited any longer to get here she probably would have died.

_Thanks again Little Garden._

"Anyway back to sleep girl. You can open your eyes now." She said as she walked past me.

"I feel fine we can leave." Nami tried to get out of bed but as soon as she moved the doctor had a scalpel at her throat.

"My patients only leave if they're cured or dead." The women told her.

I reached for a whip to protect Nami but found nothing in the holster.

_The must have taken them off._

The door at the far side of the room burst open and the furry creature from earlier came running though with Luffy and Sanji trying to drag him down.

"Just wait Luffy I'll cook this up real good."

"MEAT!"

_Right on time._

"Just what is that reindeer?" Nami asked

"That is Chopper; he's just an ordinary blue-nosed reindeer." Doctorine explained

"What kind of deer talks?" I said.

"Chopper…" as the doctor talked the reindeer grew huge and threw Luffy and Sanji off him "Ate the Human-Human fruit."

_A devil fruit that can make something human? Sounds pointless if not eaten by an animal._

"He's my student, I teach him medicine."

"Luffy leave the thing alone, you just woke up you need to relax and take a breath." I said grabbing Luffy off the ground.

When things finally settled down Luffy and Sanji left Chopper alone and joined us in the doctor's room. Luffy asked the old woman if she would be the doctor on our ship but she refused and attacked him for calling her old.

Luffy jumped out of his chair "It's the reindeer! Sanji lets catch it!" Luffy yelled running out of the room with Sanji.

Doctorine ran after them leaving me and Nami as the only ones still inside. Nami attempted to get out of bed and close the door but when she did the little reindeer appeared and told her she was supposed to be resting.

"Doctorine's medicine is strong so you fever broke. But you still have bacteria in your body so you have to rest." Chopper explained looking around the room for signs of Luffy and Sanji.

"Thank you for looking after me." Nami said to the reindeer.

"I don't need thanks from stupid humans like you." The reindeer said doing a little dance.

_Yeah you look really ungrateful._

"Are you guys really pirates?" Chopper asked.

"You bet." I told him.

"Do you have a flag?"

"Yes it's on our ship." I explained to him "Why all the questions? Do you want to be a pirate?" I asked the animal.

Chopper flailed about and crashed into a bookshelf "What made you think that!"

"Just come with us." Nami told Chopper "If we had a doctor onboard it would expedite our departure."

Chopper said the idea was ridiculous that he can't live with humans. Chopper thought we were scared of him because he can walk and talk. Once again Luffy and Sanji burst into the room and chased the poor animal off.

"Kids these days." Doctorine mumbled as she stepped back into the room "What strange ideas are you two putting in my reindeer's head?"

"Nothing that wasn't already there." I answered back.

"It won't be easy to take him with you; he has a wound on his heart, and even a doctor can't cure his pain." The woman told us

She explained that Chopper had been ostracized by his herd for his blue nose and that eating the Human-Human Fruit only made him more of an outcast. Because of Chopper's blue nose his human form is also imperfect, making him appear as a monster.

"He is neither a reindeer nor a human. Everyone treats him like a monster. Chopper just wants someone to call a friend. Can you cure the pain in his heart?" The woman asked us.

Nami and I gave the woman unpleasant looks "There once was a man though that he talked to. His name was Dr. Hiriluk, a fake doctor who gave Chopper his name and treated him like his own son."

* * *

**Rose's POV**

Zoro and I were out for a romantic walk, which he decided to turn into training by not wearing a shirt. Not that I'm complaining. We hadn't gotten too far when the entire mountainside fell on us. When we dug ourselves out of the snow we found Vivi and some other man.

"Oh hey Vivi." I looked closer to the man with Vivi and realized it was a very swollen Usopp.

"What are you two doing here?" the still shirtless Zoro asked them.

Zoro tried to get Usopp to lend him a jacket but he refused.

_Thank you Usopp!_

"If your cold Zoro we can hg for warmth, just the two of us."

We walked for a while till we came across a village buried in snow. Vivi said this place was called Big Horn and it was where she and Usopp and come from. Zoro asked for a coat but still no one spared him one.

_It's a miracle!_

"Dalton is buried under the snow, and those guys won't let us help him." A man explained the situation to Vivi.

"I remember them those are the guys who attacked us on the way here." I told Zoro.

"So they're our enemies?" Zoro asked me.

"I guess so. Why?"

Zoro ran up to one of the men and knocked him out. He stole his coat do that he could wear it himself.

_Why God?!_

The men attacked Zoro to avenge their fallen friend I eliminated them before they got to close. Everyone else began digging looking for this Dalton guy who was buried in the snow. They found him but it was already too late. He had stopped breathing.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Chopper burst into Nami's room breathing heavily

"Doctorine! Wapol is back." He explained.

_He just won't give up._

The doctor and Chopper left the room and went outside. I wandered back into the room Luffy and I were originally in and found my whips on the nightstand. I strapped them back onto my belt and went back to Nami's room.

"I'll be outside." I told her popping my head in.

I walked down the stairs and found the front door. Luffy and Sanji were standing nearby.

"Let's go we have work to do." I yelled to the two.

"What are you talking about?" Sanji asked.

"It's him!" Luffy yelled charging forward.

_Glad to see we're on the same page buddy._

Luffy ran outside and punched Wapol in the face sending him flying back. He would have fallen off the mountain if not for his two lackeys. The doctor and the reindeer looked stunned at what Luffy had done. Sanji and I walked out onto the snow.

"That's Luffy for ya." Sanji mumbled lighting a cigarette.

"Doesn't matter who you are. King so what. If Luffy doesn't like you he'll crush you." I explained to Chopper and Doctorine.

"You know those guys?" Doctorine asked us.

"Yeah they attacked our ship. Even tried to eat it." I told them

Luffy came to the shocking conclusion that Wapol was a king not a pirate and became even more upset. He also realized that it was cold and ran inside to get a jacket.

_Still a step behind Luffy._

"You friend can stretch his body?" Chopper asked

"Correct. He's a rubber man."

"What does that mean?"

"Means he's a monster." I told the little reindeer.

Chopper grew to his large form "Doctor just wanted to save this country. I won't let you take a single step into that castle."

Sanji asked the old lady if she would be joining us in the fight but she just beat him for his terminology.

The man with the afro, who Wapol had referred to as Kuromarimo, Threw a large ball of fur at Doctorine but Sanji blocked it with his leg.

"A man shouldn't throw things at a lady." Sanji told the man before he realized that the ball wouldn't come off his pants.

Sanji tried to put the balls on Chopper and the two got into a fight over who was going to have the balls stuck to them. Chopper forced all the fur onto Sanji and ran for it. Chess shot flaming arrows at the pitch covered Sanji. The fur lit on fire forcing Sanji to roll in the snow to snuff it out. Chopper went after the archer but Wapol tried to eat him on his way.

"I'm back!" Luffy yelled

"Grab my leg!" Sanji threw Luffy toward Wapol **"Armée De L'air Assault Gum Shoot!"**

Luffy flew toward Wapol and crashed into his stomach forcing him to spit out Chopper.

"Not bad." I congratulated the two.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"There is no reason to panic Dalton is still alive." A man told the crowd.

Usopp told us that these were doctors who had fled the country with Wapol. The men begged to be able to save Dalton's life since they were still doctors. The men we're given permission and operated saving Dalton's life.

"Let's go to the top of the mountain." Vivi suggested.

"Stop Vivi, you worry too much." Usopp told the girl.

"You have a lot on your mind, Alabasta, your fight with Steve. Just relax the boys will take care of Nami." I told her.

Vivi didn't look happy that I had mentioned the fight with Steve.

"Listen about Steve, he didn't really mean all that. He's stressed out to. He has to get you home because Luffy promised Igaram. He had to take care of Nami, and he has other things bothering him too. He just didn't like the way you talked to Luffy."

"I don't understand I was only trying to help." Vivi said with an upset look.

"What are you two talking about?" Usopp asked.

While Zoro filled in Usopp I kept talking with Vivi.

"What I meant was Steve and Luffy go a long way back. You've seen how immature Luffy is. He jumps in without thinking and gets involved with the wrong people if left alone. Steve is Luffy best friend and considers himself responsible for him. If Luffy gets tricked or fooled because of his personality Steve feels this urge to protect him…or at least that's how I see it."

"So he wasn't angry that I had stopped them from fighting the village but that I had come across as trying to bully Luffy?" Vivi asked.

"Exactly." I told her with a smile "Don't worry I'm sure he'll apologize soon."

We started to walk back to Zoro and Usopp when someone yelled out that Dalton was awake. We made our way over to the house he was in to find Dalton trying to walk up the mountain and fight Wapol.

"I will fight them. I will save this country." Dalton said leaning on his weapon.

_Gotta admire that determination._

"Get on I'll carry you to the top." Usopp said crouching near Dalton.

"Usopp" Vivi and I were both stunned by his determination.

"You can't carry me." Dalton told our long nosed friend.

"Who says I can't" Usopp told the man "I'll won't let you down."

Usopp tried but barely got a few steps before the weight of Dalton became too much.

"He's nuts." Zoro said walking over to the duo and picking up Dalton "You wanna go to the top right?"

Usopp was upset that Zoro had stolen his big moment. Vivi and I ran after the boys when a group of people alerted us to a ropeway in a nearby town that would take us right to the top.

"Then our path is set." I said as we turned toward the ropeway "We'll see you at the top."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"I'll show you the true powers of the Munch-Munch Fruit" Wapol said "Chess tell me what I had for breakfast this morning."

The archer read off a list of strange and bizarre foods like cannon balls and gunpowder salad.

"What a strange breakfast?" Luffy mused

"An insult to food." Sanji mumbled

"The things I ate have become part of my body. **Munch-Munch Shock!**"

Wapol body shifted and grew. He mutated into a large house with cannons for Arm. He had quite the unique appearance.

"**Wapol House!"**

Luffy was far too excited by the mutated king. Sanji and I were grossed out. Then Wapol did more strange things and ATE his own men.

"He ate his own crew!" we all yelled in surprise.

The door on Wapol's body opened "We are the strongest warrior in Drum Kingdom." A figure emerged from Wapol's stomach "Chessmarimo!"

The two men emerged looking just as ridiculous as their boss

"There just sitting on each other's shoulders." Sanji pointed out.

"So cool" Luffy yelled in awe.

"What is cool about that!" I berated.

"Don't underestimate them" Doctorine warned "If they were weak the village would have fought back.

Wapol moved one of his newly acquired cannon arms up towards the flag on the castle "I won't allow fake flags from fake doctors at the top of my castle."

Wapol shot at the flag knocking it off the spire.

"Pirate flag?" Luffy wondered

"Well it does have a skull and crossbones." I told him.

Luffy's face contorted into one of rage. He ran up to the top of the tower to grab the flag before it could fall. Chopper on the other hand ran at Wapol for attacking his father's flag. But when he got there he just stopped.

"Just leave and I won't hurt you." The reindeer told the king

_What's he thinking!_

"Don't be stupid!" I yelled.

"Chopper! He won't listen! He doesn't care!" Doctorine yelled to the fur ball.

Wapol blasted Chopper and was getting ready to finish him off.

"Hey big mouth!" Luffy yelled from the top of the tower "You're a fraud, you called yourself a pirate without ever understanding the risks. You will never understand this flag!"

Luffy had tied the flag down with a sleeve from Nami's jacket to prevent it from falling.

_Well time to get serious._

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**

**This chapter ended up being way longer than I thought I would. Whatever.**


	30. Chapter 30: A Doctor

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"I don't know whose flag this is but this flag is a promise of life. It's not a toy for you to play around with!" Luffy told Wapol "Someone like you doesn't have the right to destroy this flag!"

Luffy told Chopper that he was going to beat Wapol. The king prepared to shoot at Luffy again. When Sanji went to stop him the Doctorine pulled him down saying he was to hurt to fight.

"Enough!" Chopper ran up and went to punch Wapol but his attack was blocked by Chessmarimo.

"Go ahead Chopper, crush them." I provide some words of encouragement from the sidelines.

"You don't have a single friend in this place why bother to help this empire." The duo asked Chopper.

"It doesn't matter. As long as doctor's flag is here I will fight"

"Who says he doesn't have any friends! I'm his friend!" Luffy yelled catapulting off the tower.

I walked through the snow to get next to Luffy.

"Chopper you can deal with that guy right?" I asked gesturing to Chessmarimo "Luffy and I will take care of the big mouth."

Chopper told the duo he would beat them in just three minutes with the powers of his Rumble Ball.

Chopper worked quickly against the duo. Luffy and I hadn't even made an attack yet and he already had the two on the ropes.

"The Rumble Ball allows me to transform into seven different forms." Chopper explained.

"That's so cool!" Luffy said in wonder.

I slapped him upside the head "Will you focus!"

Chopper placed his hands together and began scanning his opponent. Luffy insisted he was going to shoot a beam at them. It had gotten to the point that all eyes were on Chopper. We weren't even fighting Wapol anymore.

"I saw it it's his chin."

_What's he talking about._

Chopper ran forward and changed forms to the one with giant muscular arms.

"**Cloven Roseo!" **

Chopper knocked Chessmarimo over with one attacks. Luffy was amazed by the skills Chopper had just displayed. I had much more important things on my mind.

""Where'd he go?" I pointed out that Wapol had run off.

"He must still be around here somewhere." Doctorine said "He can't have gone far."

Luffy and I ran inside the castle figuring that was where Wapol had gone. Luffy and I went through the castle until we found Wapol. He was much slimmer and he was chasing after Nami.

"**Whip Crush!"**

I swatted Wapol off Nami protecting her for harm.

"How'd he get so skinny?" Luffy asked.

Nami wasn't too happy about what Luffy had done to her jacket; she said that she would be charging him for the damages to her expensive coat. Wapol told us that he was going to open the armory and eat all the weapons inside. When he went to open it however he discovered that key to the room was missing.

"I still have one last trick left!" Wapol said running away.

"Get back here!" Luffy yelled running after the man with me not to far behind.

We ran after that king going up the spiral staircase in the center of the castle. We chased Wapol all the way to the top into a room with a large cannon inside. But when the man went to fire in nothing happened, just a bird flew out.

"Snow birds." Luffy pointed out the small birds clogging up the cannon.

My rubber friend ran up and grabbed Wapol by the face "I don't care if you're a king, or if you're God. I'm a pirate and I'll kick your ass no matter what you are."

"Don't be stupid. Drum Kingdom is a member of the World Government. If you hurt me you'll be enemies of the world." Wapol tried pleading for his life.

"He already told you. We don't care!" I said wrapping my whip around Wapol's waist.

Wapol opened his mouth and reviled a cannon inside it **"Tongue Cannon!"**

Wapol shot off his mouth gun but hit nothing but a wall. Luffy and I had already moved behind the king.

"You underestimated us." I taunted.

Luffy grabbed onto Wapol's shoulders and spun himself around.

"Let me go!"

"**Gum-Gum Bow gun!" **Luffy launched the man up into the rafters and through the top of the tower.

Luffy and I jumped up to the top and found the trapped Wapol. The man tried to plead with us but we we're already attacking.

"**Gum-Gum…"**

"**Whip…"**

"**Bazooka!" "Gale-force!"**

The man got sent flying off into the distance far out of our vision.

"We're done."

"Zoro! Usopp!" Luffy yelled catapulting off the roof and down into the courtyard.

"How'd you guys get up here?" I asked.

"We took the rope way." Vivi explained.

_Guess we're on speaking terms._

"What were you guys doing up there?" Rose asked.

"Getting rid of that stupid king." Luffy told her.

Dalton, the man who had led the others into town asked if we had taken down Wapol and what had happened to the two grunts from earlier. Luffy told him that the reindeer had taken care of them.

"Thank you very much." Dalton said bowing "This country can become a better place now."

When a large crowd of people came up from the cable cars they were pretty shocked to see Chopper. Dalton defended the animal to keep the men from attacking him. Usopp was shocked to see the bipedal reindeer. Chopper was scared by all the people looking at him and ran off.

"Look what you did Usopp. That was our new crew member!" Luffy yelled at the long nosed man.

Luffy didn't waste any time running after Chopper. Dr. Kureha ushered all the injured inside, including Nami and Sanji.

* * *

Some time passed before we were getting ready to leave. I wanted to talk to Vivi but she was inside with Nami and I didn't want to interrupt. Luffy was running around looking for Chopper, who was trying to keep hidden.

"Maybe he doesn't want to be a pirate." Rose said.

"No he does." I told her "He just doesn't want to leave his home."

"I want to thank you." Chopper said walking out from behind the corner.

"Be a pirate with us!" Luffy yelled at him.

"I can't! I want to but I can't" Chopper yelled "I'm not human! I'm a monster. I can't be your friend. Thank you for asking."

"Shut up let's go!" Luffy yelled throwing his arms up.

Chopper had tears pouring down his face and his nose was all runny "Okay."

* * *

Chopper went inside to say goodbye while the rest of us sat around waiting for him to return. Luffy and Usopp had gone to ready the lift for us to leave.

"He's coming." Zoro pointed out the reindeer running at us.

"Everyone get on the sled. We're leaving!" Chopper said running out.

We all climbed into the sled while Chopper was running. He took the sled and ran down the ropeway into town. Luffy wanted to go down again but we reminded him that we had places to be. When we got into the forest Chopper stopped the sled and changed forms.

"It's beautiful" Nami whispered.

Chopper was very touched by sign. The snow falling from the sky had turned pink and made the mountains look like giant cherry blossoms.

After watching the snow for a while we returned to the ship where we had to fish a frozen Carue out of the water. Apparently he had jumped in after Zoro and gotten frozen solid.

_Those two were supposed to be watching the ship what the hell were they doing._

"Time to set sail for Alabasta!" I yelled as Zoro lifted the anchor.

"Let's have a party!" Luffy yelled.

Luffy shoved chopsticks up his nose and danced around he even got Chopper to join in. I explained to the others the Chopper was going to be the doctor on our ship. Everyone gathered around for a toast.

"Let's drink to our new friend!" Usopp yelled as we all clinked our mugs together to celebrate the arrival of our new doctor.

* * *

**NO POV**

"Dalton Sir!" a man said running out of the castle.

"What is it?" The man asked.

The man handed Dalton two bounty poster for men who had just left the island, "Strawhat" Luffy and "Torturer" Steve. The man explained that someone had passed through town looking for Blackbeard. Since he didn't find him he asked about the men on the posters. He left a message for the two.

"Tell them I will for them in Alabasta for ten days. If Luffy or Steve come through tell them that Ace left them this message."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	31. Chapter 31: Ace

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We were finally on our way to Alabasta. I had decided to take this opportunity to talk with Vivi.

"Vivi let's talk." I said ushering the girl into the cabin.

The girl followed me inside "What do you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier." I said "I let my emotions get the better of me and lost my temper."

"No it's oaky you were right I shouldn't tell you how to do your job." the girl explained.

"Don't worry we will stop Crocodile." I told her.

We both accepted the apologies and went back out onto the deck where Sanji was attacking Luffy for eating all our food. He was begging Nami for a fridge with a lock.

"You idiots better catch something so we don't starve!" I told Usopp, Chopper and Carue.

"So what's this Crocodile guy like?" Rose asked Vivi.

Vivi explained that in Alabasta, Crocodile is a national hero. Vivi went on to explain how Baroque Works….well works. There are teams of male and female agents. There are officer agents and frontier agents and hundreds of smaller agents.

"So if the takeover of Alabasta is Crocodile big plan…" Zoro mused.

"Then reason would lead that the officer agents will be there as well." Rose finished his sentence.

"Exactly." Vivi responded.

* * *

We sailed for a few more days and still Luffy and the others had yet to catch anything. We were running out of food quickly. The journey was relatively uneventful. We passed over an undersea volcano. One day though something interesting happened.

"We caught an Okama!" Luffy and Usopp yelled.

I walked to the lower deck to find that Luffy had fished a very odd man out of the water. The guy was dressed up like a ballerina and had a ton of makeup on his face.

"You can't swim? Did you eat a Devil Fruit?" Luffy asked the man.

"Yes I did. This is my power." The man reached out and slapped Luffy in the face.

"I'll kill you!" I said pulling out my weapons.

"Wait!" a familiar voice said "It's all part of the show." The man turned his face and Luffy's face was on his body.

"What am I doing over there?" Luffy said standing up.

The two looked identical, right down to the scar on Luffy's face.

"And if I touch my face with my left hand I go back to normal." The man demonstrated "That is the power of the Clone-Clone Fruit."

The man showed his powers to everyone else on the deck. He proved that he could easily imitate anyone. Right down to the smallest details on your body. He tried to show us Nami's body but she incapacitated the man before he could.

"There's a ship coming is it yours?" Nami asked the man.

"Yes it is. It is time for me to depart. Don't fret my friends distance and time mean nothing to true friendship." The man said jumping onto his own ship.

"We'll miss you!"

_What a weirdo._

"Let's get going!" the man said to his crew.

"Yes Mr.2, Mr. Bon Kurie sir!"

_WHAT!_

The man's boat sailed away leaving us all in a state of shock.

"THAT WAS MR.2!"

"How come you didn't recognize him?" Luffy asked Vivi

"I've never met Mr.2 or Mr.1 and his partner. I had only heard rumors; like that he was a huge Okama and wore a swan coat with Okama written on the back.

"How did you not notice?!"

"One of those faces. It was my father's" Vivi said with a terrified look.

"It'd be really bad if he uses those memories against us." Nami explained "We might not be able to trust each other."

Luffy didn't quite understand what Nami was talking about, but I did.

"Don't worry there's no need to panic. Meeting Mr.2 was actually a stroke of luck. No we can plan for his powers."

* * *

We kept getting closer and closer to Alabasta by the second. But still we had yet to find any food. Fortunately a giant Sea Cat appeared as we got closer to our destination.

"FOOD!" Luffy and Rose yelled.

"Don't let it get away!" Sanji screamed bursting out of the kitchen.

The three that were planning to kill the cat were swatted away by Vivi. Who said Sea Cats are sacred animals in Alabasta and you can't kill or eat them.

"We're getting close to Alabasta. The climate and the Sea Cat prove that." Vivi said looking excited to finally be home.

"That's also proof." Zoro said gesturing behind the ship.

There was a fleet of ships behind us that Vivi said were probably the Billions, servants of the officer agents. Usopp wanted to shoot them and Luffy wanted to fight them but Sanji stopped them.

"You have to remember there are only ten of us. We can't lose sight of our true objective."

We continued to sail towards the nearby island avoiding the other ships. I went inside Chopper's make shift infirmary and stole some of his bandages.

"Everyone come here and get one of these!" I yelled assembling the crew.

"Are those my medical supplies?!" Chopper yelled

"Take one and tie it around your arm." I instructed.

"I get it." Nami said "This will show us who the real versions of us are."

"We need a symbol as back up." Zoro suggested "In case they catch on the wrapping idea."

"Let's make it an X" Luffy suggested.

We all painted the symbol on our arm and tied the wrapping over it as our indicator of who was who.

"No matter what happens." Luffy said sticking his arm out "This things on our arm. Is a sign of our friendship! Now let's get on land!"

As soon as we approached the island Luffy jumped and ran off looking for a restaurant.

_Damn idiot stay still._

I hopped off the ship and ran after Luffy ignoring the protest of the others.

"I'll bring him back; you guys get what we need from town." I yelled over my shoulder.

I ran through town looking for Luffy and found him about to barrel into a restaurant.

"Not another step Luffy." I said latching my whip around his ankle.

"**Gum-Gum Rocket!" **

We launched into the restaurant and crashed into somebody. By the time I pulled myself off the floor Luffy was already at the bay asking for food.

"Strawhat! Torturer!" I looked over and saw the familiar face of Captain Smoker form Loguetown.

"Oh you're here." I said" Stop eating Luffy!"

The surprised Luffy saw Smoker and shoved all the food on the counter into his mouth and followed me out the door. WE ran through the streets and came across Smoker assistant Tashigi. We avoided her by jumping up to the roof, but smoker followed us.

"We can't fight him so just keep running." I told Luffy running.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

Sanji returned from cloths shopping with outfits for the whole crew. Nami enjoyed the dancer outfit that Sanji had bought for the girls but Vivi and I weren't too thrilled.

"We look more like dancer girls than normal citizens." Vivi told the chef.

"Mine is too big. It barley stays on my chest." I said with a pout.

_Stupid small chest._

"Zoro give me your shirt I don't want people seeing me half naked!" I yelled in a whisper.

"Why mine?!"

"Because I need it, and it's too hot to wear my leather jacket. That's what good boyfriends do. They let their girl wear their clothes." I said as he slipped off his shirt and passed it to me "Thank you."

"ROSE!" Sanji screamed falling to the floor "Why didn't you ask to barrow my clothes."

"Because you're not my boyfriend"

"Neither is the Moss Head! What did you do to her you green haired freak!"

"Something you never will." Zoro said picking a fight with the chef.

"Stop fighting you two." I said breaking up the fight.

"Since when is Zoro your boyfriend?" Nami asked.

"Since always. Just don't tell my brother. I'm not sure how he'd react."

Sanji fell on the floor in a deep despair about how Zoro was defiling his precious flower.

"We've got Marines." Usopp said peeking out over the wall we were hiding behind.

"Hey Zoro!" Luffy said running our way chased by Marines.

"Don't go that way!" Steve yelled from behind him.

"You're not getting away!" I looked behind the two men and saw Captain Smoker chasing them.

_What's he doing here? I hope Tashigi isn't with him. I don't know if I can bare to face her after our fight._

"**White Blow!"** Smoker's arm turned to gas and flew towards my brother and Luffy.

It was about to connect when it was interrupted by a wave of fire **"Heat Haze!"**

I saw the fire from into a man I knew very well.

_What's he doing here? Steve won't be happy about this._

"ACE!" Luffy yelled out

"You're here?" Steve said, you could feel the sourness in his voice "Just great."

I ducked behind Zoro to hide from the fire man.

"Why are you hiding?"

"Don't let him see me. I don't want to deal with him right now."

"Why?" Nami asked crouching next to me "who is that guy?'

"His name is Ace. He's a childhood friend. Only as he got older he develpoed a huge crush on me."

I felt Zoro's back tense up and saw a frown appear on his face.

"Run!" Steve said barreling past us dragging Luffy.

We ran back to The Going Merry and raised the anchor. Vivi sent Carue ahead to deliver a message to her father, the king.

After we had set sail for a different city on the island everyone wanted to know how Luffy knew Ace.

"He's my brother." Luffy said like it was no big deal.

"Ace is two years older than I am." Steve said "He left home three years ago to look for the One Piece."

"I've never beat him in a fight. Even before he ate a Devil Fruit." Luffy told the others "But I can beat him now!"

"Just who can you beat?" Luffy fell off the railing and Ace jumped aboard.

"Thank you for taking care of my brother" Ace addressed the crew.

"Why are you here?" Steve said getting to the point.

"Luffy, how'd you like to join the Whitebeard Pirates? Your friends can come too. Especially Rose." Ace asked with a creepy look on his face.

I visibly shivered behind Zoro.

"No!" Luffy responded.

"I will make Whitebeard the king of the pirates. Not you or Steve." Ace said

"So what. I'll fight him." Luffy told his brother.

We talked for a little bit longer. Ace reveled he ate the Flare-Flare Fruit, making him a fire person.

"Here." Ace threw Luffy a scrap of paper "This will allow us to meet again one day."

Ace jumped off the ship and onto a small skiff powered by his Devil Fruit. He rode past five Baroque Works cruiser and pulled his fist back.

"**Fire Fist!" **In a few sounds Ace had easily destroyed the ships and rode off.

"Good he's gone." Steve said walking into the kitchen.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**


	32. Chapter 32: Alabasta Adventure

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Nami sowed the paper from Ace to the bottom of Dad's hat so that Luffy would never lose it. Vivi brought out desert clothes for us to wear. I got dressed in a brown cloak with a white hood. Rose's outfit was grey with a purple hood. Sanji wasn't too happy the girls were covering up the inappropriate dancer outfits he had bought.

"This is our destination, the oasis of Yuba. That is where the rebel's base is. I want to talk with their leader." Vivi explained showing us a small map.

"A rebellion of this size might not stop with just talk." Zoro told the girl.

"I won't let Baroque Works do what they want to my country." Vivi said.

We docked the ship at the bank of the Sandora River and departed from the ship.

Vivi explained that we were "This is Erumalu 'the city of green' or at least it used to be"

The entire town was nothing but a dried up husk. Crumbled buildings laid half buried in the sand. No one had been to this place for a long time.

"What is this thing?" Usopp yelled looking at a large seal that also had a shell.

The animal immediately knocked the long nosed man out. Vivi explained that these were Kung Fu Dugongs, animals that practiced martial arts and train under anyone they lose to.

"No punch like this." Luffy said demonstrating to a crowd of seals.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled

We had to give the dugongs a large portion of our food so that they would stop following Luffy around. We walked through the ghost town and Vivi told us it hasn't rained here in three years. Vivi told us that there was an incident with a substance called Dance Powder. Nami explained that the powder can be used to make it rain but causes droughts in nearby areas.

"It's mystery powder." Luffy said

"You're an idiot." I told him

_God it's hot._

"Soon after the Dance Powder arrived in Nanohana the rain stopped, everywhere except the capital Alubarna." Vivi told us "Crocodile sets all this up. He's ruined people's lives, playing with them. What right does he have! I won't ever let him get away with this!"

Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp took out their frustrations on a nearby building.

"Let's get moving, I'm anxious now." Luffy told the others taking the lead.

* * *

We walked for hours in the scorching heat. Everyone was exhausted and Chopper had to be pulled on a sled by Zoro.

"These dunes are like mountains." Rose complained.

"I need water." Luffy groaned.

"Just a mouthful, understand." Nami said handing him a canteen.

Luffy grabbed the canteen and filled his mouth. He puffed his cheeks up like a chipmunk and tried to maximize his water. Sanji and Usopp got in a fight with Luffy over the water, wasting stamina and the precious fluids we would need to survive our walk over the desert.

"You idiots knock it off or we're all dead." I told them trying to break up the fight.

"I'm hungry! Sanji lets eat!" Luffy yelled.

"You're always hungry. You can eat when Vivi says so." I told Luffy.

"We'll take a break at the next rock." Vivi promised Luffy.

When we looked up there wasn't so much as a shadows as far as the eye could see. We just kept walking. As soon as Usopp spotted a rock Luffy made a mad dash past everyone for the resting place, only to come running back screaming for Chopper.

"Chopper come quick there's a bunch of sick birds!" Luffy screamed for the doctor.

"Wait Luffy those are Warusagi Birds." Viv told us.

When we got to where Luffy had left our stuff the so-called sick birds were gone and so were all our supplies.

"I can't believe you! If it weren't so hot I would kill you!" I stated berating Luffy

"It's not my fault I was tricked." Luffy tried to defend himself.

"You got fooled by a bunch of birds you dumbass. Now we have no food or water!"

"Enough both of you!" Zoro yelled at us "You agitated by the heat. Just relax. We can reach Yuba by tonight, it's an oasis so we might not die just yet."

Both Luffy and I calmed down and went to get some shade on a nearby rock. Luffy saw the birds that stole our luggage and went running after them, only to come back with a camel being chased by a giant lizard.

"I suppose we should help them." Sanji said

"Guess so." Rose said walking out of the shade.

"**Tatsumaki!"**

"**Dagger Storm!"**

"**Epaule Shoot!"**

"**Whip Crush!"**

"**Gum-Gum Whip!"**

We killed the lizard with a five prong attack. Sanji deduced that the thing was edible and cooked it so we had something to eat. We decided to bring the camel along for our journey so that we could ease the need of having everyone walk. But the thing would only carry the girls so the guys had to walk.

"I'll call you Eyelash." Nami told the camel as she climbed up on his back.

We walked even further into the desert. We passed dunes, dunes and more dunes. I think I was a cactus at one point but I'm not sure.

"It's a tsunami!" Luffy suddenly started screaming and flailing around.

_What now!?_

"Luffy ate one of those cactuses." Usopp told Chopper.

"That's hallucinogenic." Chopper screamed.

"I'm gonna kick your ass.!" The delusional Luffy yelled

"**Tranquilizer!"** Chopper pricked Luffy with a needle knocking him out cold.

"The camels getting away!" Sanji called our attention to the animal and girls far in the distance.

We managed to catch up to the girls. Luffy woke up along the way and I beat him for eating strange foods and nearly getting us lost.

"Where were you boys?" Rose asked when we regrouped.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Zoro and I both answered.

When the sun set it went from unbearably hot to borderline freezing. To add onto our continued troubles the wind picked up and started blowing sand everywhere.

"See that light that should be Yuba…something's wrong." Vivi said quickly losing her optimism.

When we got closer we saw that there was a sandstorm ravaging the town. We walked into the town and realized that it wasn't much better than Erumalu. The town was empty except for one man with a shovel in the center of town.

"Sorry but the towns a little dried up. You're welcome to spend the night in one of the inns though. " The man told us.

"Excuse me we heard this was where the revolution was." Vivi asked the man hiding her face.

"What'd you want with those punks?" The old man asked throwing things at us "Those stupid kids packed up shop and left town."

"WHAT!"

"They moved to Katorea"

"Is that close Vivi?" Luffy asked.

"It's back in Nanohana, where we started." The girl said distraught.

The man ran up to Vivi and started talking to her and she realized she knew the man. The two had a heart to heart and the man told Vivi her still believed in the king, Vivi's father.

"I'm begging you, stop this foolish rebellion. You're the only one who can." The man called Toto told Vivi.

"We can stop it." Vivi reassured the man.

* * *

We packed it in for the night and got ready to rest at one of the inns. Before I fell asleep I noticed Luffy wasn't inside. I went out and found him digging with the Toto. He was doing a pretty poor job since he was throwing sand into the hole the old man was digging.

"Don't throw the sand like that Luffy." I announced my presence.

"Isn't that what you do when you dig?" Luffy asked confused.

"Yes but you're throwing the sand in Toto's hole and that's not really fair is it?"

A few hours passed before Luffy passed out at the bottom of the hole he was digging. I hopped inside the small pit and picked my friend up.

"Thank you for letting us spend the night." I thanked Toto for his generosity.

"No thank your friend there for all his digging."

I carried Luffy inside and laid him on the ground with a pillow and a blanket.

"Wish you wouldn't tire yourself out, we have a big fight coming up you know." I said to the sleeping boy.

I went in to my own bed and tried to fall asleep but became caught up in my own thoughts.

_We have a tough trial ahead of us. Powerful men like Crocodile and Mr.2 stand in our way. Not to mention Miss All-Sunday. That woman. She continues to control my thoughts. What is it about her. I feel all weird every time I think about her. It's even stranger when I think I man have to fight her. My heart fells achy. Do I not want to fight her? I certainly don't want to mess up her good looks. I want to see her again too. I want to know more about her. This reminds me of the story dad told me one time._

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"Hey dad?" I walked up and tugged at his coat.

"What is it bud?"

"How'd you know you loved mom?" I asked

"What makes you ask that?" He asked

"I just wanna know more about you guys before you guys leave."

"Dahahaha, Alright. I remember meeting her when I was on The Pirate King's ship. She worked in the kitchen, I was a trainee. I don't know what it was I remember every time I looked at her it seemed like she was glowing. Maybe that was her Devil Fruit I wasn't sure." He explained

"But what made you know for sure." I asked trying to see the end of the story.

"I'm not quite sure. I just know that every time I thought about her, my heart trembled."

"Bleh, that's sounds all mushy."

"You're the one who asked for the story you brat!"

_**Flashback End**_

* * *

_Am I in love? Impossible. She's like ten years older than me. She's also way out of my league. I wouldn't stand a chance with a babe like that._

_**I just know that every time I thought about her, my heart trembled.**_

_Rose said that's why she likes Zoro "He makes her heart tremble." _

_Am I?_

* * *

**Robin's POV**

Crocodile had assembled the officer agents for the final phase. The only ones missing were Mr.3 and Mr.5, along with their partners. I walked in and Mr.2 and Mr.1 were already fighting.

"Can't you get along?" I asked walking in.

"Miss All-Sunday!"

"Where are we?" Mr.1 asked.

"Are you familiar with Rainbase 'The City of Dreams' and the building your in is the grand casino Rain Dinners. If there are no more questions let's get started. Allow me to introduce the elusive boss."

They were awfully surprised to see that Crocodile was the boss. He explained to them his 'Utopia plan'. An idea I was only involved in for the Poneglyph that might hold the answers I seek.

"I would appreciate if you'd wait on this 'Utopia plan'." I looked to the stairs and saw Mr.3

_It's him. The one who killed that boy._

"How did you get in here Mr.3?" I asked the man.

"I just hitched a ride on the turtle." He explained "I came here for another chance."

"What are you talking about?!" Crocodile asked.

"I'm referring to the fact that I let Vivi and the Strawhats escape."

_They're still alive. My heart it feels strange._

"You mean they escaped! What were you talking about on the transponder snail?!"

"I never used a snail on Little Garden." Mr.3 said

"Tell me you killed at least one or two of them?"

"Not really."

_This feeling._

"There were actually six pirates!" Mr.3 yelled.

"I met them!" Mr.2 yelled out when he saw the pictures of the pirates.

He cycled through his faces. I recognized them form when I was on the ship. One was missing, the man with the blonde hair and there was a new one, some animal. There was on face that caught my attention, a man with red hair.

_Why do I feel so strange._

"Take pictures of Mr.2 so we know who to look for." Crocodile instructed.

"Just one more chance!"

"Shut up you failure!" Crocodile grabbed onto Mr.3 and sucked the moisture out of him.

He dropped the man into the Banana-Gator tank.

"Miss All-Sunday."

"Yes Sir?"

"Message the billions and tell them to look out for Vivi and the pirates. Vivi must not meet Kohza."

"Right away Sir."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Right before we left Yuba Toto gave Luffy a jug of water that he got from the hole he dug last night. Vivi promised to stop the rebellion and we left the small oasis. Right on the outside of town Luffy sat down next to a tree.

"I quit." He said

_Huh?_

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. **


	33. Chapter 33: In The Cage

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked Luffy.

"Vivi I want to beat the snot out of Crocodile." Luffy told the girl "Stopping the rebellion won't stop Crocodile. We can't do anything with them. We're pirates you'd be better off without us."

"He hit the bull's-eye without even thinking." Sanji mumbled.

_What are you doing Luffy?_

"You don't want anyone to die. We are going to war with a Warlord. You don't want anyone from this country or any of us to die." Luffy told the girl "That's naïve."

"Stop it Luffy!" Nami tried to get past but I put my arm out.

"No Nami."

"What's wrong with not wanting people to die?!" Vivi asked

"People die. That's life." Luffy said.

_Speaking from experience huh pal._

Vivi punched Luffy in the face "You can't blame the rebels. This whole thing is Crocodile's doing."

Luffy fought back against Vivi "Then why risk your life!"

Vivi pushed Luffy to the ground but he kept on talking "I've only been here a day and I can tell what this county needs most. One life won't be enough."

"What else do I have?!"

"Try risking our lives too! I thought we were friends!"

_Damn punk. Could have gotten the point across without fighting like that._

"You're the one who wants him dead the most. So tell me where is Crocodile?" Luffy asked.

Vivi took out her map and pointed to the city Rainbase. She said it would take a day to reach it.

"If it's going to take a day we should get moving now." I said standing up.

_A whole day trekking through the dessert alone with my thoughts. Crap._

We walked through the scorching desert for the second day in a row. Most of the trip was made in silence to conserve energy.

_We're getting close. Crocodile is just out of reach. That means __**she'll**__ probably be there. Ugh Get out of my head._

Vivi was right it took almost the whole day to cross the desert and reach Rainbase. Along the way Nami and Usopp discussed a new tool Usopp had made for the girl. The city was quite a sight. A large casino with a gator on top was situated in the center of town.

"Think Baroque Works knows we're here?" Zoro said.

"Probably we did see Mr.3's ship back in Nanohana and we met Mr.2 not that far off the island." Rose told him.

"We'll have to watch how we act since they know our faces." I told the others.

"How come?" Luffy asked

"Because we don't know where they're hiding. Think Luffy, we don't even know what Mr.4 or Mr.1 and their partners look like. We may walk right past them and get spotted." I told him

"They are assassins." Zoro added.

"While Steve is right we don't have time to think up a plan." Vivi said.

When we got into the town Usopp took Rose and Luffy to go and get a drink and the rest of us wandered around.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"WATER!" We yelled as we walked into the bar.

We took a seat at the bar and ordered barrels worth of liquid. We each took one and planned to bring the rest back to the others. I looked around the bar and saw two familiar faces sitting next to Luffy and I.

"Oh Crap!" I screamed causing Luffy and Usopp to spit out their water "Smoker, Tashigi!"

Luffy Usopp and I got up and ran from the bar carrying the barrels of water with us.

_What the hell are those two doing here! _

We found the other and told them to run as well.

"What the hell happened?" Zoro asked.

"It's Tashigi and Smoker. They were in the bar we went to."

"That damn lookalike." Zoro groaned.

All around the street people were staring at us. Some looked more suspicious than others.

"I think we've been spotted." Steve yelled out.

"Which way to Crocodile?!" Luffy screamed.

"There the casino Rain-dinners." Vivi said pointing ahead.

"We should split up!" Sanji proposed.

"Do it. Meet back up at the casino!" Steve said dispersing.

Steve jumped up to the top of a building with Luffy. Zoro and I went one way with Vivi, and Sanji took Nami and Usopp. Along our path we met up with a large platoon of Marines.

"ROSE!"

_Crap_

"Oh hi Tashigi." I said trying to break the tension.

I heard Zoro start to mumble "Stop looking like that."

"The two of you need to fight me."

_Huh_

"Listen our fight is over and Zoro won't fight you. Please just leave." I begged the girl to avoid having to fight my friend.

"WE haven't even truly fought yet." Tashigi said.

"I can't do this." Zoro grabbed my arm and ran away from the girl.

"Bye I guess!" I yelled back.

When we found our way to the casino despite Zoro terrible directional skills we found Nami and Usopp being held up by some agents from Baroque Works. Zoro and I took care of them and it wasn't too much longer before Luffy and Steve showed up still being chased by Smoker.

"Go! Get inside!" Steve yelled out.

"I'm coming Crocodile!" Luffy added charging past us.

We burst into the fancy establishment and Luffy yelled out for Crocodile. Of course he got no response. It wasn't much longer before Smoker burst in and forced us to run deeper into the casino. There was a group of men pointing us towards the VIP room.

"He's inviting us in?" I wondered.

We ran towards this VIP room and fell through a trap door and got trapped in a cage.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

I can't believe we got caught like that. All we had to do was go down a different path. I was leaning on the cage with Luffy who looked really tired.

"You feeling alright bud?" I asked the rubber boy.

"I'm really tired. Like all my strengths gone." Luffy said with his tongue hanging out.

Out of nowhere Luffy was struck by Smoker's sword. Smoker held Luffy down with his Jitte. He explained that his weapon was tipped with a substance called 'Sea stone' that gives off similar energy to the sea thereby preventing the use of Devil Fruit abilities. Apparently the cage we were in was made of the same substance which is why the marine was trapped with us. Zoro wanted to fight eh man but Rose managed to get him to back.

"Why can't you all be friends?" Said a man in a nearby chair.

The man had greasy slicked back black hair. A scar on his face and a hook for a hand. He also wore a large fur coat. Smoker said that this man was Crocodile, the warlord we were looking for.

"HEY YOU!" Luffy jumped up and grabbed the cage immediately losing his strength.

"Don't touch the bars moron." I told him picking his jelly like body up from the floor.

"I do applaud you for making it this far. I never thought I meet you in person." Crocodile told us "But we can't start without the guest of honor. I just sent by partner to pick her up."

_His partner. Miss All-Sunday! I feel like I might explode._

I turned to the side and grabbed my sister by the shoulders "How's my hair?! Do I look presentable?! My breath fresh?!"

"What are you talking about? Focus on what's going on." Rose berated me.

_Right focus._

* * *

I kept mumbling to myself about my appearance and Luffy was doing impressions when Nami came up and bashed us over the head telling us to focus.

"Crocodile!" we all looked to the stairs and saw Vivi being escorted in by Miss All-Sunday.

_It's her. She sure is pretty. Agh Focus._

"Thank you for coming Miss Wednesday."

"I'd come from anywhere to see you die." Vivi told the warlord.

"It's you country that will be dying." The man said.

Vivi charge at the man screaming about how he ruined her country. She swung at him and his whole head burst and disappeared.

"Nope…" Smoker mumbled.

_What's he talking about?_

The man's body reformed and he appeared behind the princess "You should now about my Sand-Sand Fruit powers. Would you like to be a mummy?"

"Don't touch her!" Luffy screamed.

The entire time this was happening I couldn't take my eyes off Miss All-Sunday. She was gorgeous. I felt it now, that felling Dad had talked about. Inside that cage was when I realized.

_I'm in love._

I felt her staring back at me. At one point our eyes met and she turned away immediately when Crocodile called her.

"Yes the operation should be starting now."

Crocodile took the time to explain to us his master plan. He was going o fool the people using Mr.2's Clone-Clone fruit powers and convince them the king was evil that way the rebels would attack.

"How can you be so cruel?" Vivi yelled at the man "I will stop you!"

"If you want to get to Alubarna and stop the rebellion you can come with us." Crocodile told Vivi and then threw a key down a hole "If you left right now you might make it in time but then you'd be leaving your friends to die. You could let them out but, oh no I threw the key into the Banana-Gator pit."

"Look there's a gator growing out of that banana" Luffy pointed out the windows into the fish tank.

"I think it's the other way around pal."

"Oh no one of the gators just ate the key!" Vivi yelled.

"We'll be taking our leave now but just do you now this rom will collapse on itself in one hour. Water will flood in and make this room part of the lake outside." Crocodile said walking out of the room.

Miss All-Sunday was still near the cage before getting ready to go with Crocodile who was gloating about how he kept plaguing Yuba with sandstorms.

"Why are you working with a nut like him?" I asked the woman.

"That's none of your business."

"I can stop him. You just gotta let me out of this cage. Come on gorgeous." I tried to charm the woman into freeing me.

"Even if I wanted to I don't have a key." She said hiding her face.

_Is she blushing?_

"Let's go Miss All-Sunday!" Crocodile yelled and she went to his side.

_Bastard._

"Vivi get us out of here! If you don't who's gonna stop him!" Luffy yelled.

One of the gators came out of the tank and into the main room. The thing was massive. It looked ten times bigger up close like it was now. The creature was close to Vivi and looked hungry. I heard Rose squeak in the corner when the gator bite into the stairs and crushed them like Arlong crushed that pillar.

"We have a phone call." The lady pointed out to Crocodile as he picked up the receiver.

"Hello this thing on. Never used one of these before." A familiar voice said over the snail.

"That voice."

"Hi this is the Crap Café. "

"SAN…"

I grabbed Luffy and covered his mouth "Keep your trap shut.

"I'm Mr. Prince."

"Save us Mr. Prince." The others started yelling.

There was a crashing sound from the other side of the phone and men came on telling Crocodile they were outside and had taken care of Sanji.

_You got beat that easily._

Crocodile and Miss All-Sunday left to go and look outside for Sanji leaving us trapped in the cage. He turned around one last time to pull Vivi off the stairs and prevent her escape. Vivi was in bad shape. She had been attacked by Crocodile and was dodging the reptiles back an fourth.

"Just hang on I'll get help!" Vivi said running out of the room.

While Vivi was gone Nami tried to get it to break the cage with its teeth but when it bit down it only hurt itself.

"How much do you know about those two?" Smoker asked us.

"What do you mean?" I said.

"That woman you were flirting with has a bounty of over 70,000,000. If the two of them team up it will be bad for the whole world." The marine explained

"What do you mean?! My little brother was flirting with an older woman!" Rose said getting in the man's face "how could you do this Steve."

"I just wanted out of the cage I swear."

"Yeah right." I heard Zoro mumble

"Shut it you green haired freak!"

"You wanna go."

Zoro and I got into an argument about a bunch of random crap when a voice interrupted us "Will you two savages act civilized."

"**Anti-Matter Kick Course!"**

The Gator in the center got sent flying and Sanji appeared underneath it. Dozens of gators came into the room to fight Sanji. Smoker deduced that the third one to enter the room had the key. When Sanji kicked the gator it spit out a huge ball of gunk. When the ball melted it reviled that Mr.3 was inside. The man tried to bargain but Sanji beat the crap out of him and got him to make a new key for the cell, since he destroyed the last one.

Once out of the cage we took care of the remaining Gators. We must have gone a little too hard because the room started to collapse and water rushed in. I grabbed the passed out Luffy and swam to the surface.

"You still alive. Your damn powers are a pain in the ass." I said throwing Luffy onto the shore.

Not too far behind us the others surfaced, include Zoro and Rose who pulled Smoker up with them.

Smoker thrust his sword at Zoro "why'd you save me?'

"Just following orders. Don't thank me, it was just Luffy being weird." The swordsman told the marine.

"Glad you're not dead!" Rose cheered

"Go. This is the only time I'm letting you get away."

The other took the chance to run and after a short stare down I dragged Luffy along with them. We followed Sanji to the outside of town where we found Chopper riding a giant crab.

"Hey everybody! Get on! This is Eyelash's friend." the reindeer yelled.

We all hopped on. Rose had to be carried onto the beast by Zoro but we all managed to get onboard. We didn't get very far before Vivi was yanked off the crab.

"Chopper stop the crab!" Zoro yelled.

"Let's go Luffy!" Luffy grabbed me and threw us towards the hook holding Vivi.

I grabbed the girl and threw her to the others. Luffy grabbed onto me and latched onto the hook.

"GO ahead we'll be fine." Luffy yelled

"You guys get Vivi to Alubarna. Leave this to us!" I instructed

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. **


	34. Chapter 34: Defeat

_Italics indicate Thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"We'll be waiting in Alubarna!" Vivi yelled to us as the crab sped away.

"Okay!" "We'll see you there!"

Luffy and I crashed into the sand near Crocodile and his partner.

"I'm sick of your games." Crocodile told us.

"You know Vivi's so weak but she tries to save everything. She wants this rebellion to end without any deaths." I said looking up at Crocodile.

"There are many sympathetic fools like that. They don't know true battle, don't you agree?" The man asked me.

"Yes I do. You're absolutely right. Vivi is a bratty naïve princess who can't see the world for what it truly is. But regardless of all that she's my friends, and as long as you're alive she'll fight till she dies. That's why I must stop you. I'm not a fan of letting my friends die." I responded to the man.

"How ridiculous. Those who conspire with others all end up dead. I've played hundreds just like that." Said Crocodile.

"We'll you must be pretty fricken stupid then." I spit back.

I heard Miss All-Sunday try and hold in a laugh.

_I made her laugh!_

"What's so funny?! Do you want to die as well Nico Robin? "

"If that's who you feel, but what happened to your promise not to call me that name." Miss All-Sunday walked away saying she was headed to Alubarna.

Crocodile threw an hourglass into the sand "You two have three minutes, after that I have business to attend to."

"No problem, that's plenty of time." Luffy told the Warlord **"Gum-Gum Pistol!"**

Luffy threw his fist at the man but Crocodile easily dodged it. Crocodile reformed from the sand and tried to clothesline us with his hook. I ducked under the attack and pulled back for an attack.

"**Whip Typhoon!" **

The whip slammed through Crocodile but since he's sand the attack just dissipated his body.

"You two can't win. No matter how hard you struggle!"

"**Gum-Gum Gatling!" "Whip Hurricane!"**

No matter how much we attacked his body just kept coming back. Attack after attack had no effect on the Sand human in front of us.

"You two are in a completely different league from me. I'm do playing games it's time to end this! **Desert Spada!**"

A huge sand blade came barreling towards Luffy and I. We jumped away and when we looked back there was now a huge chasm between us.

Luffy freaked out "The desert got cut in half!"

"Depending on how you use them Devil Fruit powers can be incredibly powerful." Crocodile explained "I've honed my skills to perfection. You'll regret opposing me! **Desert Girasole!**"

Crocodile stabbed the ground and a huge pit formed and started sucking Luffy and in to the bottom. We tried to get out of the pit but running was getting us nowhere.

"I'm not getting buried alive! **Gum-Gum Bazooka!**" Luffy blasted himself out of the pit and tried to catch Crocodile in a **Fingernet**. Crocodile easily escaped the attack and swung at Luffy arm with a sand blade.

"My Arm! It's all mummified!" I heard Luffy scream while I continued to struggle in the sand pit.

"My sand dries out anything it touches." Crocodile explained.

I finally pulled myself out of the hole and found Luffy chugging water and restoring his arm to its usual state.

"Sand can't stop me!" Luffy ran up and tried to bite Crocodile's head off.

"Don't do that it's disgusting!" I yelled.

"ENOUGH!" Crocodile erupted from Luffy's mouth in a cloud of sand "Die with Yuba! Your time is up **Sables**."

A massive sandstorm formed. A storm Crocodile said was headed for Yuba.

"Give up. One that storm picks up speed even I won't be able to stop it."

"Stop this! Cut…" Luffy suddenly stopped yelling mid-sentence.

"LUFFY!" I saw that Crocodile hook and penetrated right through Luffy's midsection.

"**Whip Jetstream!" **

"You shut up to **Crescent Cutlass!**" Crocodile sand arm cut right through my lower leg dropping me to the floor under Luffy "Yuba will die today. Just like the rest of this country."

I looked up and saw that Luffy was grabbing Crocodile arm. When he stabbed Luffy he broke Luffy's canteen and got water all over himself.

_You can touch him if he's wet!_

"Just die already!" Crocodile threw Luffy into the sand pit "You can sit there and wait for the sun to come up and dry you out."

Crocodile walked away muttering to himself. I tried to get up but my leg was too dry to do anything. I managed to find a small puddle left inside the pieces of Luffy's busted canteen. That was enough to reenergize my leg.

"Don't worry I'm coming." I got to work digging for Luffy but all the sand falling into the pit made it impossible to get any work done.

Luffy's head suddenly emerged from the sand and he began screaming for meat.

"Don't yell." I tried to pull him out of the pit but the leverage was terrible and I had no footing in the sand.

A group of hands emerged and threw Luffy out of the quicksand pit. I grabbed Luffy and brought him to the more stable sand nearby.

"Thanks, but why?" I asked the woman that stood in front of me.

"Why do you fight? Those with the initial 'D'?"

"What the hell are you talking about All-Sunday?"

"Seems my question has fallen on deaf ears." The woman answered handing me Luffy's hat.

"I've got you now!" Where is Princess Vivi?!" a man in white came up "I won't lose so easily this time."

"What perfect timing. Why don't you save this boy's life? He is the one who escorted the Princess here."

_What is her game?_

"These two are brilliant fighters. They made sure the Princess got to Alubarna. I'm not sure if we'll meet again but it was a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Steve." The woman hopped into a Gator car and rode off towards Alubarna.

"MEAT!"

"Come on I'll help you get your friend some help. My name is Pell, a royal guard." The man helped me pick Luffy up and get him patched up.

"I'm running into town real fast I'll be back in ten minutes.

"Wait! Why are you going that way?"

"I need a barrel!"

* * *

I returned with a pair of empty barrels I found in the street. When I got back to Pell he was finishing treating Luffy, who was stuffing his face.

"I'm ready to go!" Luffy said.

"How are we going to catch up with the others?" I told him

"Actually I think I can help with that." Pell said explained he had Devil Fruit powers that allowed him to become a giant falcon.

We got on Pell and flew to Alubarna to try and catch up with the others. Along the way we filled the barrels inside the river and attached nozzles. I explained to Luffy how to fight Crocodile and we made our way to Alubarna.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"What do you mean this crab can't cross water?!" Usopp yelled.

"It's a sand creature. It's not meant to swim." Viv explained.

"We better do something the River's getting close." Sanji pointed out.

Nami took off her outer coat and the crab sped up to max speed and was running across the water.

_Stupid bimbo they only like her because she has big boobs._

"We're sinking!" Zoro pointed out.

We were gonna have to swim to shore. We hadn't even started when a giant catfish erupted and tried to eat us.

"That's a Sandoran Catfish! It loves to eat humans!" Vivi yelled

"Oh come on!" I yelled swimming as fast as I could.

The fish stopped chasing us and we looked back and saw the dugongs from the other day had beaten it into submission.

Chopper translated for the seal creatures "They said they won't let their fellow students perish, Hop on they'll give us a ride tot eh next shore."

_Fellow student?_

We got to the sure but in under an hour but we were still unsure if we'd make it in time to stop the rebels.

*quack*

"It's Carue."

We saw Vivi's pet duck along with a handful of other ducks. We each hopped on a duck while Zoro came up with his 'master plan'. The plan just boiled down to covering ourselves so that we looked like Vivi in a coat and pulling Baroque Works in multiple directions thereby buying Vivi time to get to the rebels.

We got close to that palace in record time. There was an explosion that provided cover for us to split up. I went with Zoro and Nami through the western gate. We zigzagged though the streets. We we're followed by a duo I didn't recognize but the man had a big sing for one on his chest so I assumed the people following us were Mr.1 and his partner Miss Doublefinger. When we got far enough into the city we stopped running and turned to face the ones following us.

We each took off the cloaks we were wearing "Sorry better luck next time!"

We got off the ducks and Nami pushed Zoro and I forward "Get'em you two."

"Always start with the weak, that's rule one." The members of Baroque Works began marching towards Nami.

Zoro intercepted Mr. 1 just before he could kill Nami. The pillar behind us split like it had been cut by a sword.

Zoro's sword collided with Mr.1's arm there was a *cling* and the man was unscathed "What are you?"

"I ate the Dice-Dice Fruit so my body is blades." The man explained to Zoro.

"A few years ago these two." The woman gestured to Zoro and I "Declined an invitation to join as Mr.7 and Miss Father's Day. They killed the agents who met with them."

_Good times._

"Well I told him I wanted to be the boss and he attacked me. I had to put him down." Zoro explained "You two plan on inviting us as well?"

"I'll deal with this guy Miss Doublefinger you take care of the girl." Mr.1 instructed his partner.

"Rose! Take Nami and run!" I grabbed said girls hand and went down a back ally.

"Don't worry Nami, I'll protect you."

We stopped against a building to catch our breath when a spike pierced through the wall and stabbed my shoulder.

"Gaahh!"

Nami ran to my side as I squirmed on the ground trying not to cry.

"She must have Devil Fruit Powers." Nami said.

"I ate the Spike-Spike Fruit so I'm a spike human." Doublefinger explained.

I stood up. It hurt to move my arm but I'd manage.

"Stand back Nami I'll take care of this." I told the girl.

"No. I can fight to. Usopp made this Clima-tact for me. I won't stand around at let everyone protect me." Nami pleaded with me to let her fight.

_Damn girl._

"Fine. Let's Go!"

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**

**Feel free to message me your questions or concerns. **


	35. Chapter 35: Explosive Conflicts

_Italics is for thinking _

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

Nami and I stared down Miss Doublefinger. Nami tried to use that thing Usopp built her but when she did doves flew out.

"What the hell Usopp!" Nami screamed throwing the device to the ground.

For a minute I thought she broke it because there was an explosion not too far from us. Unfortunately I quickly discovered I was wrong.

"**Nose Fancy Canon!"**

_Not him._

"Mr.5?" Doublefinger looked to a nearby building "aren't you supposed to be in Little Garden."

"I found my own ride here. Look I know I'm should be dead for failing to kill them earlier but let me take care of the blue haired one. You don't want to have to fight them two on one, right?" the man asked.

"Alright fine you can deal with the competent one. I'll take the one bumbling around with the kid's toy."

Mr.5 shot another booger at me and I dodged it again.

"Don't worry Nami." I gave the girl a smile "I'll finish this real fast so I can help you. **Dagger Shot!**"

I threw a single blade at Mr.5, but he blocked it with a flick of his explosive wrist. The man pulled out a pistol and jumped down from the roof. He blew into the gun and spun the chamber. When he fired that shots exploded on impact. Luckily I rolled out of the way but Nami needed my help and I couldn't spend all day dodging his shots.

_I have to find an opening._

Mr.5 ran up and tried to take my head off with a clothesline. Luckily I ducked but that wasn't good enough.

"**Bomb Stomper!" **

His foot hit the ground and caused and explosion that blew me back into a wall.

_My back!_

I stood up and saw Nami was on the ground not too far from me.

"You two can die now." I looked up and saw Miss Doublefinger stuck to the roof of a nearby archway "Mr.5!"

Doublefinger rolled into a ball and fell down when she did Mr.5 ran up and kicked the ground next to her sending her flying **"Shrapnel Soccer Ball!"**

Nami and I ran from the flying spiked ball hurdling towards us.

"We need to get out of the open!" Nami yelled jumping in a nearby window.

I followed her inside blocking the giant spiked ball that was Miss Doublefinger. Nami threw her cloak into the spikes to protect me and I got up to run outside.

"You're not going anywhere! Mr.5 grabbed me in a bear hug. **Full Body Explosion!**"

_This is gonna hurt._

* * *

**Nami's POV**

I threw Rose my cloak and ran outside.

_Dammit Usopp this things useless. I want to help people not do a magic show._

The building I was just in exploded and turned to dust. Two people emerged and they weren't the one's I wanted to see. Mr.5 threw the burnt husk that was Rose onto the ground.

"Gaahh!" she screamed when she hit the ground.

_Oh God! Well at least she's still alive. This happened because she was trying to protect me. I'm so useless. Not anymore!_

"Where are you~" I heard Miss Doublefinger hum.

"I'm right here!" I said stepping out "I'm through hiding. Having to have everyone always looking out for me. I'm sick of it."

_Let's hope this thing works Usopp_

I blew some of the rods and balls came out but they didn't do anything. Mr.5 pulled back and started shooting boogers at me.

_Gross!_

"**Sowing needles!" **Miss Doublefinger started walking on huge menacing spikes.

I felt the spike drive through my leg. She was about to stomp on my face and I threw the rod up in self-defense. Somehow it created a barrier that protected me. Reading a little farther I discovered that this 'toy' could manipulate the weather.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

_God that hurt._

When I opened my eyes I saw Nami reading her instruction manual. I stood up just in time to see Nami get impaled by Miss Doublefinger's fingers.

"NAMI!"

A slow breeze came through and Nami blew away.

_What?_

"You've been tricked." Nami reappeared next to Miss Doublefinger. Nami explained that by using the **Cool Balls **from her staff she made a mirage.

I managed to stand despite the obvious pain I was in. I saw Nami was being pinned against the wall and was close to being killed by Doublefinger.

"You're still breathing girl?" I looked over and saw Mr.5

_Gotta save Nami. Deal with this guy later._

"**Chain Blade!"**

I threw a knife connected to a chain and wrapped it around Miss Doublefinger.

"Get over here!" I yelled tugging the chain and pulling the women away from Nami.

When she landed she snapped that chain with her spikes. I saw that she had a piece of Nami's staff in her hand.

"**Explosive Clothesline!"**

Once again I ducked underMr.5's attack and ran forward.

"Nami catch!" I kicked the metal rod to Nami so she could complete her weapon.

"Thanks!" Nami grabbed the device and set it up and made it start to sprinkle water around.

I turned my attention back to Mr.5. I ran at the man opting to strike first this time.

"**Blade Runner!" **I pointed blades forward as I ran.

I dashed forward and tried to stab the man but he dodged my attack and grabbed my ankle.

"**Concussion Booster!" **He slammed me into the ground and kicked the dirt at the same time so I got bounced up and down multiple times.

I pulled out another knife and slashed at his wrist to free myself. I fell to the ground and stood up. I was in a lot of pain put I saw that Nami was still fighting strong so that gave me a boost to keep going. I threw off my leather jacket and laid it on the ground. I grabbed as many knives as I could and started connecting them together.

"This is the end for you!" I said to Mr.5 **"20,000 Thorn Broadsword!" **I help up a large spiked sword.

"What the hell is that thing? It looks like a rejected art project! It belongs in a scrap heap!" Mr.5 yelled pulling out his gun.

He shot at me but I ran past it **"Thorn Slash!" **I swung and spilt Mr.5's gun in two.

He reached forward to grab my face but I moved under him again **"Fell Stinger!" **

I cut right through Mr.5 just like Zoro would and he fell into a heap on the ground.

"Stay down."

I looked down the block to find Nami staring into a Miss Doublefinger shaped hole in the wall.

_She did it._

I ran up and hugged Nami as we both fell to the ground.

"We're pretty good huh." I said.

"Yep. The best."

**Alubarna: North Block, Behind The Meeting Hall**

**Winner: Nami and Rose**

* * *

We pulled ourselves off the ground. Nami went to investigate the piece of her weapon that was wrapped around Miss Doublefinger. I went and picked up my jacket and put the knives back in there proper positions.

"We need to get to the palace." Nami said.

So we started walking towards the royal grounds in the back of the city. A short way iton our walk we ran across a bloody Zoro.

"What happened to you?" I yelled running up to him.

"Doesn't matter I won."

I saw that Nami took longer to catch up because of her injured ankle. She had been limping most of the way and I had helped her walk.

"Zoro carry Nami."

"What! I'm hurt I can't carry her." He yelled back.

"Do it." I said shooting him a glare.

"Yes Ma'am"

Normally I wouldn't let another girl near Zoro like that but Nami was my friend and she was in a lot of pain so I'd make an exception.

"The palace is this way Zoro." I said grabbing him and pulling him the opposite way he was going.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We had made good time. Riding on Pell's back was a little uncomfortable. It really wasn't meant to hold two people but Luffy and I managed. As we approached the royal palace we saw Crocodile holding Vivi over the wall.

_They got her here. Knew you guys could do it._

Pell picked up speed without a word so we could rescue Vivi, who Crocodile had just dropped from the wall. We made it just in time. Luffy grabbed Vivi right before she crashed into the ground below.

"Made it."

"Luffy, Steve the square is going to be bombed. There isn't much time everyone is going to die. No one can hear me." Vivi said in tears.

"Stop worrying. We heard you." I told the girl as I hopped off the falcon.

"You two be careful." Pell told us as we got ready to confront Crocodile.

"Don't worry I ate a lot of meat." Luffy told the birdman "I won't lose."

I grabbed onto Luffy as he threw his hands to the top of the palace "Let's go."

"They're alive!" I heard Chopper scream.

"See I told you. I always knew." Usopp added.

"Yeah you're a true believer." Sanji said walking up.

Usopp got whacked over the head by Nami "I didn't ask for a party toy!"

Zoro wasn't too far behind and he was screaming about how he had to carry Nami.

"We're all here!" Rose yelled excited.

"Sorry we lost." Luffy told the others.

"Don't worry this time we're finishing it." I added.

"ALRIGHT!"

Luffy pulled us to the top of the castle. From our position in the sky we could see Crocodile.

"You two want to get killed again? You know you can't touch me."

Luffy punched Crocodile in the face and I slammed his stomach with my whip. Luffy spun in place and threw his hands towards Crocodile When the grabbed on I swung and whipped Luffy in the back.

"GO!"

"**Gum-Gum Buzz saw!"**

Luffy flew forward and kicked Crocodile in the face. Crocodile flew back and landed on the floor.

"Get up we're not even close to finished." I told the man "I saw it when you broke Luffy jug of water from Yuba. If you get wet you can't become sand. You've been causing the drought and preventing the rain because you're scared of water."

"This is only the beginning." Luffy said dosing his hand in water.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated.**

**Feel free to message me any questions or concerns. **

**Also Fell Stinger is actually a bug type move from Pokemon.**


	36. Chapter 36: Blood & Bombs

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"What'd you mean we have ten minutes?!" Usopp yelled.

"If they plan to blow up the square the shooter can't be very far." Vivi said.

"So Crocodile plans on killing his own men." I added.

A man tried to attack Vivi but Zoro and Sanji eliminated him before he got close. We were quickly surrounded by a hoard of Baroque Works agents.

"We've got two seconds." Zoro said.

The others ran off and Zoro, Sanji and I dealt with the problem and ran off to look for the bomb.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"You still think you can defeat me. You know I'm one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea right?" Crocodile said still refusing to take us seriously.

"Well if you're the seventh…We're eighth and ninth!" Luffy yelled.

_Huh?_

No one even acknowledged Luffy's remark. Luffy threw a punch at Crocodile. The warlord grabbed is hand and tried suck it dry. Luffy ran forward, he kicked Crocodile but since his feet weren't wet they went right through him. Crocodile reappeared not to far from me so I jumped towards him and tried attacking from the air.

"**Whip Cyclone!" **

The attack hit Crocodile in the face and he jumped back. Luffy kept the pressure on by using a new attack we came up with. Luffy threw his hand like a normal punch and then he jiggled his arm around to me it look like he had a dozen extra hands.

"**Gum-Gum Shotgun!"**

Crocodile turned his arm into a sand blade and cut the ground by Luffy. I ran in during the opening and slammed into Crocodile's stomach knocking him back. I took my barrel off my back and threw it at the warlord. I smacked the barrel while it was in the air to spike it onto Crocodile's head.

"**Whip Spike!"**

Crocodile moved and dodged my barrel causing it to crash into the ground and shatter.

_Crap. What a waste._

"Don't lose your barrel Luffy it's all we've got left."

I heard a shatter from behind me and slowly turned around to find Luffy had drunk his entire barrel to make sure he didn't accidently break it.

"YOU IDIOT!"

"**Water Luffy."**

Luffy started spurting water out his bandages "No I'm leaking!"

_This isn't happening._

"WILL YOU STOP PLAYING GAMES!" The infuriated Crocodile yelled.

Luffy squeezed his throat and shot a ball of water right at Crocodile, soaking him. I took my chance to run in and attack now that Luffy had made an opening.

"There's nothing wrong with having a little fun." I threw my whips back **"Whip Gale-force!" **

Crocodile got sent flying back into a side building near the palace. Luffy and I took the brief moment to get some rest. I heard a scream and saw that Miss All-Sunday had let The King off the wall.

"Take me to the place where the 'True' history is written." The woman told the king.

I gave the woman an odd stare but she only started to laugh.

_Do I have something in my teeth?_

"You're time is up." Was all the woman said before Crocodile interrupted her.

"Nico Robin! Get out of here, unless you want to dry up to." Crocodile told the woman as she started to walk away.

"Listen Luffy." I leaned over to my friend "That man that Miss All-Sunday took is Vivi's dad. I'm going after her. Buy me some time." I turned to start running after the woman.

"You're not going anywhere!" Crocodile appeared with his arm in a sand blade **"Desert Spada!"**

"**Gum-Gum Rocket!"** Luffy crashed into crocodile launching him back and giving me a free path to the stairs.

_Please don't die._

* * *

I followed the woman through town. I had no doubts she knew I was following her. A short distance from the palace she came across a platoon of Marines led by Rose's friend Tashigi.

"Get out of my way." She told the girl.

"I have no intention of doing so." The Marine told her.

"Then I'll have to kill you."

The king started pleading with the Marines to leave her and go find the bomb that would kill a million people. The foolish girl said she could take the older woman and save the king.

"**Treinta Fleur." **Pairs of arms sprouted on all of Tashigi's men **"Clutch!"**

The arms pulled and snapped the necks of the Marines.

_That fruit is so…violent. I bet it makes for great massages though._

One of the Marines pointed out that Miss All-Sunday was really Nico Robin, a woman who's had a 79,000,000 Beli bounty since she was a child. Apparently she got this bounty for destroying eight Marine ships when she was eight.

_How could an eight year-old sink 8 warships?_

"ARE YOU DONE?!" Miss All-Sunday yelled at Tashigi, who just sent her troops away to stop the bomb.

"Release that man." Tashigi said pointing her sword at All-Sunday.

The sword suddenly turned around and was pointed at Tashigi's throat.

"I told you to stay out of my way!" As the sword was about to pierce the girls throat I made my move.

"**Whip Fishing Rod!" **I grabbed the sword and forced it out of her hands and into mine "Enough you made your point let the girl go." I said staring the woman down.

I threw a crying Tashigi her sword "I'm so pathetic. Saved by a pirate."

My arm moved on its own and wrapped one of my whips around my neck and pinned my arm behind my back.

"Walk or die." The woman instructed me

Since I really didn't have much of a choice I obliged. We walked through town in silence will we got to the Royal tomb. The king pushed a hidden switch and a passage opened up.

"Is it down there?" All-Sunday asked.

"No one else knows this place exists."

"In a country like this there are some things even the king doesn't know." All-Sunday remarked.

The king asked if she could read something called a Poneglyph, to which she responded that was why Crocodile couldn't kill her. The two had a brief back and forth about this 'Poneglyph' most of which was lost on me.

"Someone care to explain what it is you two are talking about?" I asked finally speaking up.

King Cobra shot me a look that said 'Keep quite if you wanna live'

Miss All-Sunday just clicked her tongue "Why are you so dumb."

"HEY! I'm smart." No one said anything as my complaints fell on deaf ears.

We walked to the back of the passage and All-Sunday opened a large door that led into a large room with nothing but a big block in the center. Nico Robin walked to the center of the room and started to read the writings on the thing.

"Find what you were looking for?" Cobra asked her.

"This is it. This is all you're hiding?" the woman asked the king.

"I did what you asked, are you not satisfied?" the king said.

I heard footsteps coming from the back of the tomb.

"So this is where it was. Any normal person would be ignorant of its existence." Said a voice I recognized as Crocodile.

_Luffy!_

The man walked into the room and looked at me "So this is where you ran off to. And you got yourself caught. How sad."

"Where is Luffy." I stared at the man.

"Strawhat, He's back at the palace working on his tan." The man said laughing.

I let out a low growl but Crocodile ignored me and went to tell All-Sunday to read what was written out loud. The woman started reciting a long list of conquerors and kings that had ruled the country. King Cobra looked confused as she read and Crocodile was pissed.

"I don't care about a list of kings! Where is the Pluton." He screamed.

"The word Pluton isn't anywhere on this stone." She told the man.

"How unfortunate… you were a great partner, *sigh* but it's time to kill you now." The man said

_What?!_

"You were a worthy partner but in the end you're breaking you promise. You said if I got you here you'd tell me about the Pluton." Crocodile swung at All-Sunday "But you know what Nico Robin. I'm not mad, know why?"

Robin threw a vile of water at Crocodile so that she would be able to stab him with a knife but he avoided the attack and cut her down with his hook.

"I never trusted you from the start." The man said as she fell to the ground.

_I feel like my bloods on fire. I'll kill this bastard! _

The hands that had been holding we turned into petals and floated away allowing me to free my neck from the grip of my whip. The whole room suddenly rumbled.

"The bomb shouldn't have gone off yet." Crocodile turned to the king "What did you do?"

"I just moved a pillar. Now everything is off balance. This whole place should collapse soon." Cobra told him "I will never give you this country."

"How foolish I can just turn the rocks to sand and I'll be fine. You'll die a fool Cobra!" Crocodile gloated.

"You still have to deal with me." I said commanding attention.

"Oh I forgot you were even here." He said with a casual look "But you have no water so how will you even hit me."

_Damn he's right I don't have anything that can harden the sand. I need a liquid….That's it!_

I threw my shirt off suddenly and cracked my whip against the ground "I just got a brilliant idea."

* * *

**Rose's POV**

I ran around like a chicken with me head cut off looking for this bomb. We only had ten minutes and I hadn't seen so much as a trace. When I was looking around I saw a huge cloud of red smoke in the sky.

_Usopp's signal!_

I made my way through town trying to get to the signal. I was struggling to get to where I wanted to go because of the crowds.

"Go this way!" I looked over to see Tashigi pointing me to an alley "This will get you there faster."

"Thank you Tashigi."

I didn't question my old friend and ran down the alley. Once I got out I saw Usopp and Vivi about to be attacked by Baroque Works. I ran in and cut down the men trying to attack them.

"**Blade Shower!"**

"Go find the bomb. I'll cover you." Tashigi said taking on more of the organization's agents.

I followed Vivi to a clock tower near the center of town. Along the way we passed by a lot of people fighting.

"Stop!" Usopp pulled Vivi's head down "Looking around won't help anybody. If we don't stop that bomb in two minutes everyone will die."

"We need the others!" I yelled out over the nearby fighting.

"VIVI!" we looked over and saw Nami riding Chopper up to us.

Vivi explained that the bomb was inside the clock tower.

"Great we know where it is." I said "But how are we going to get up there. Even I can't climb that high in a minute."

We heard yelling and saw that Zoro and Sanji were already halfway up the tower. Nami started to say something but she was interrupted by a person hiding in the clock tower.

"I'm afraid this is our last job Mr,7."

"Indeed Miss Father's Day."

We looked up and saw two people hiding inside the clock. Vivi explained that these two were a sniper team.

_Weren't Mr.7 and Miss Father's day the names they wanted Zoro and me to take._

We ignored the two people at the top and Nami told us she had a plan to get Vivi to the top of the tower. She had Vivi sit on Chopper, Chopper stand on my back, and me on Usopp.

Usopp screamed in pain as Nami's staff spun into him and launched him into the air.

"Now Jump!" Nami yelled

_I see_

"Okay ready Chopper!" I wrapped the **Chain Blade **around his ankle and threw the reindeer higher into the air.

They went up to Sanji who kicked them to Zoro. Chopper jumped higher and higher until he had no one left and threw Vivi to the top of the tower. As he was falling Zoro got shot by the snipers at the top of the tower. When Vivi landed in the tower she pulled her string weapons and the snipers fell from the tower.

"Amazing!" Usopp cheered.

Vivi didn't come out of the tower for a while. We began to worry if she was okay or if she stopped the bomb.

Vivi came to the door of the clock and started screaming "It's a time bomb!"

_Crap!_

"What are we gonna do!" I yelled "I don't wanna die Zoro!"

"You see that?" Zoro asked be "That big bird just flew into the tower."

We looked up and saw a large falcon dragging the bomb out of the tower. The bird took the bomb into the sky and nothing happened for a few second. Then the whole sky lit up as the bomb exploded.

"Why." I gasped

"That bastard…"

"To protect the country he…" Nami and Sanji were just as shocked as I was.

"Hey…" Usopp tried to get our attention.

We looked back and saw the rebels and the royal armies were picking themselves of the floor and going right back to fighting. Vivi started screaming for everyone to stop but no one was listening.

"She always cares too much. It only gets her hurt." I said sadly.

Nami started banging on Zoro and Sanji's chest "I don't care do something! Save anyone you can!"

She pushed us back into the street to try and stop the fighting.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"AGGHH!"

"What the hell are you doing!" I heard Cobra yell.

I tightened my whip again and slammed it into my back.

"AGGHH!"

_It hurts but I need it._

"Are you some kind of nut?" Crocodile asked.

"No." I looked up still reeling form the stinging on my back "I'm a genius."

"Are you trying to kill yourself so I can't take credit for murdering you?"

"**WHIP CRUSH!"**

My weapons slammed into the warlord and sent him flying back. I panted I felt the blood trickling down my back.

"You know I wanted to kick your ass before but after what you just did to that woman, I want to do it even more!" I yelled.

"You punk, you used your blood like water. And now you have the audacity to defend that woman!" he stood back up.

I got ready to go back at him but I was interrupted.

"CROCODILE!"

I turned around and saw him "Luffy!"

"How many times do I have to kill you!" Crocodile yelled.

"I'll keep coming till you give it back." Luffy told the man.

Crocodile asked Luffy what it was that he took.

Luffy ran up and punched Crocodile in the face "Give Vivi her smile back!"

Luffy must have figured out how to use the blood like I had. I got up and went next to Luffy.

"What happened to you!" Luffy yelled looking at my scared back.

"I needed to fight Crocodile." I said panting, I had lost a lot of blood and my vision was blurring.

"Fine I'll start taking you two seriously." Crocodile took off his hook and a smaller hook oozing with poison was under it "This will be our last fight. Let's finish this!"

"**Gum-Gum Pistol!"** Luffy threw a punch at Crocodile and missed but nearly got cut by the poison hook.

I ran forward an jumped towards Crocodile **"Whip Typhoon!" **Crocodile reached out and tried to grab me in the air but I used a whip to pull myself to the ground **"Whip Lash!"**

Crocodile jumped over my attack and brought his hook down to impale me. Luckily Luffy grabbed me and pulled me back, but he wasn't fast enough and I felt the hook scratch the skin on my ankle. The area I had just been turned to mush when the hook touched it. Crocodile dashed forward and nicked Luffy with the hook. Luffy grappled the man and threw him back to me where I picked him up and slammed him into the ground.

"This match is set, the poison I seeping through your bodies. You'll both be dead in a few minutes!"

"You don't understand anything." Luffy told him.

We ran back in and assaulted Crocodile with a flurry of **Punches, Lashes, and Kicks**.

"Why are you still fighting, the poison will kill you soon. You have no stake in this country. Why fight for it."

"For Vivi." We explained "She'd die if she had her way. She'd die cause of you."

"**Gum-Gum Gatling" "Whip Hurricane!"**

We attacked Crocodile and fell to the floor a few seconds after that. Our bodies had given out. The poison was just too strong.

"So do you still think you can win? I don't have time for amateur pirates like you." The warlord gloated "It's over! You're finished."

Crocodile started telling Cobra how the bomb the others were going to stop was also a time bomb so stopping the shooter won't stop the bomb. I had to keep going. Somehow I mustered the strength to pull myself off the floor.

"We're not finished." Luffy told Crocodile.

"You both look pathetic. The look suits you. How can you say such ridiculous things, just stay dead!"

"Because… We're going to be Kings of the Pirates!" We yelled

Crocodile became enraged and charged at us with his hook. Luffy kicked the hilt up and I wrapped my whip around it and pulled. The crude tool snapped off and broke.

"We will surpass you." I said.

Luffy ran up and punched Crocodile in the gut and I slammed my whip into his head. Crocodile twisted the gold portion of his and a small knife emerged.

"Do you know who I am. You are nothing to me!" he stabbed at Luffy but Luffy ducked and kicked him into the air.

Crocodile made a giant sandstorm inside to try and stop us but Luffy had already started twisting his body. Luffy lunched us towards Crocodile and we went in for our final attack.

"**Gum-Gum Storm!" "Whip Blizzard!"**

He tried to stop us with a collection of sand blades but out attacks broke through his defense.

"AAAHHHHH!" "DIE!"

Crocodile got sent flying through the roof of the temple. Unfortunately the room only started to collapse faster. Luffy and I both fell to the floor completely devoid of energy. The poison had taken its toll. We'd be dead soon. While on the floor I heard the King and Nico Robin talking.

"I just wanted to know the 'true' history…I'm afraid my dream just had too many enemies."

The king grabbed Luffy and I and forced something down our throats and I instantly started to feel better.

"We gotta get out of here." I told Luffy as we laid on the floor.

He silently walked over to the king and picked him up. I trudged over to the woman I had become fond of and threw her over my shoulder.

"Let's get out of here" Luffy said

"What are you doing! Put me down!" The woman yelled "I've lost what I wanted in life. Just let me die!"

"Why should I listen to you? I don't care what you think I'm saving you because I want to. You can do whatever you want when we get topside." I told her.

_Watch your hands Steve, no unsafe touches._

Luffy and I ran though the collapsing temple and got outside just before it fell apart. I kept my promise and put the woman down. I would have like to hold her a little longer but I mostly did that because right after I passed out.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**This ended up being a very long chapter. I may write a second today since I have nothing important to do except watch football (NFL- Go Chargers!)**


	37. Chapter 37: Goodbye Vivi, Hello Robin

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

We were trying to keep as many people form killing others as we could.

"Look!" Sanji yelled and pointed to the sky.

Looking up I saw Crocodile flying through the air.

"Where'd he come from?" Chopper wondered

"Doesn't matter we know." Usopp told him.

"THEY WON!"

And then by some miracle, a sheer force of luck or God, it started to rain. For the first time in three years rain was falling in Alabasta. The rain did something to the warriors on an emotional level. Everyone stopped fighting once they saw that it was pouring.

"Stop Fighting!" Everyone turned to look to the clock tower where Vivi was.

"They heard her." Nami pointed out the obvious.

Vivi tried to explain that there was no need to fight but they had trouble believing her. I couldn't blame that they had seen their king attack a town. One of the generals came out and told the Royal army to put down their weapons.

"You put your weapons down to Rebel army."

We turned and saw that Mr. 8, err Igaram, was still alive.

"It's that guy from Whisky Peak." Zoro pointed out.

"How?" I thought out loud.

Igaram presented a kid who explained to everyone that they had been tricked, that the king who attacked Nanohana was really Mr.2.

"I will explain it clearly but you must all put down your weapons." Igaram told the crowd.

"Come on let's go." Zoro said commanding everyone to follow, he had to drag Usopp but we got moving.

After we rounded a corner we found a man carrying Luffy and Steve.

"Who are you?" He asked me.

"Well you see that big guy on your back is my little brother, and the other one's my friend." I told him.

"So you're the pirates who brought Vivi back." He said looking at us.

"Everyone! Daddy?!" I heard Vivi yell running up to us.

"DADDY! You're the king!" Sanji screamed.

The king set the unconscious Luffy and Steve against a building nearby "Had it not been for these two I'd be dead. They fought Crocodile and then each carried someone out of the collapsing temple. They were poisoned but it should be neutralized."

Vivi kept hounding us to get our wounds looked at but Zoro pushed her away "Stop bothering us. Go to the square."

"He's right." Usopp told her "You stopped the uprising now the king and the princess need to close the book on this incident."

"We prefer to stay out of politics" Sanji told her.

"Can we go to the palace to rest? I'm beat." Nami asked.

Vivi nodded and we all passed out right there in the street.

_We'll get to the palace later. _

* * *

**Steve's POV**

_Ugh my head_

I opened my eyes and saw that I was in a room full of beds.

"You're awake!" I looked up and saw Vivi sitting near the bed I was in.

"He's awake." Chopper ran up and started poking me with a bunch of tools.

"Where are we?"

"In the palace, you and Luffy have been asleep you three days." Rose explained

_Three days. Damn that's a long time. Explains why I'm so hungry._

The other filled me in on some of the things that had happened after Luffy and I beat Crocodile. Apparently the Marines helped them stop the bomb, Igaram was alive and it rained for the first time in years. After a few hours of tests Chopper still wouldn't let me get out of bed.

"I slept great!" Luffy yelled waking up from his three day nap and began slapping his head "Where's my hat? I'm starving where's breakfast. Where's my hat. Hat, Hat, Hat!"

"It's right next to you. A guard found it." Usopp explained.

_Energetic as always._

"Luffy it's late, almost time for dinner. We were asleep for three days. I only woke up a few hours ago." I explained trying to calm him down.

"Three days! So I missed fifteen meals!"

_What kind of math is that? Five meals a day. That's actually less than I thought it be. _

Zoro showed back up and Chopper yelled at him for training with his injuries. Zoro wasn't the only one who was messed up. Everybody had injuries. Nami had a hole in her foot, Usopp had apparently be beaten with a bat, Sanji Looked like he got mugged, and Rose had burns on parts of her body.

The door opened and women walked in "Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes."

This lady looked just like Igaram but wasn't. Vivi explained that this was his wife, Terracotta. Luffy devoured the 'snack' she brought for him and told her he would need three days' worth of food for tonight.

* * *

We waited a half hour and before we were showed into the dining hall. Of course Luffy didn't waste any time shoveling food into his mouth. The guards thought that he never learned any table manner.

_They're right._

Dinner was pretty hectic. Most of it was spent screaming and eating. Zoro kept demanding more booze. I think Chopper almost choked at one point. But regardless it was fun and exciting. Eventually the singing and dancing died down and the King invited us to use the bath.

"Normally we only use it in the rainy season." He explained as we walked into the extravagant bath.

Usopp and Luffy went running in and slipped and banged their heads. Everyone cleaned them selves, I sat in alone in the back of the bath thinking.

_What was she talking about? _

_**My dream has too many enemies.**_

_Just who is this Nico Robin?_

"Hey Steve." Luffy ran over "There all looking at the girl's bath wanna come?"

"No thanks." Luffy ran off to join the others in there disgusting habits.

_Not like any of them can ever compare to her. Not to mention on of the girls on that side…Is… my… Sister…_

_THOSE PERVERTS!_

I jumped out of the bath to go and teach the freaks a lesson for looking at Rose like that but when I got there they were already out cold

"What happened to you guys?" I asked.

"Happiness!" Sanji answered.

"Thank you all." The king said.

"Pervert."

"That's not what I meant!" Cobra bowed to us "Thank you, on behalf of this country. Thank you."

"Your majesty kings shouldn't bow" Igaram told the king.

"I'm not speaking as a king. Here in this bath, I'm speaking as a father. So from the deepest part of my heart, thank you."

* * *

We got dressed and headed back to the room we were all staying in. We came to the decision we were going to have to leave tonight. The marines were becoming more and more aggressive and we were going to have to get out while we could. We were packing our things when the Transponder Snail rang.

Sanji answered the phone "Hello?"

"Hey it's me, the Okama!" the phone said

Sanji immediately hung up. The phone rang again and I picked up.

"What?" I said the lack of patience I had going through the line.

"Listen don't call me Mr.2 I don't want the Marines tracing this call."

_He does no he just called himself Mr.2_

"Get to the point." I told the man.

Mr.2 went through a long drawn out explanation about friendship that ended with him saying he stole our ship.

"Where the hell are you!" I yelled into the speaker.

"On your ship of course, Duh."

Mr.2 told us he took the boat up river and would be waiting for us not too far from where we were right now.

"Let's go." I said "We're moving out."

"Everyone…Please tell me what I should do?" Vivi asked.

Nami told Vivi we'd move the ship past the east coast tomorrow and if she wanted to come with us that would be the only time she'd be able to. Vivi lent us some ducks so that we could get back to Merry before morning. Along the way the others talked about Vivi potentially coming with us but I was unsure.

_The seas are rough; it's not really a place for a princess like her. _

We made it back to the ship just before dawn. Mr.2 was there complaining about how we made him wait. We climbed aboard ignoring his whining. We unfortunately had to thank the man because he moved the ship away from the Marines.

"You really are a nice guy!" Luffy, Usopp and Chopper sung as they danced with Mr.2

"You came to us to help you escape the Marines right?" Zoro asked finding the man's true intention.

"That's right. This is the time when we should help each other out." He said having jumped back to his own ship.

"Let's go!" Nami yelled "We have a schedule to keep."

* * *

We were making our way around the island when the Marines attacked. They were firing huge metal spikes at our ship.

"I'll bounce them back!" Luffy said.

"No you won't that'll kill you!" I said punching his head.

"We're going to sink if we don't do something!" Chopper yelled.

_Hand to hand we're strong. But in a naval battle we're at a disadvantage._

Usopp managed to sink two of the ships. The ones he sunk had faces I recognized, Jango and Fullbody, apparently they were both low ranking Marines now.

"Mr. Bon Clay sir! We have a problem, it's Black Cage."

"Not Hina!" Rose yelled.

"She's a Marine like Smoker. She's got nasty Devil Fruit powers. We can't fight her we have to get out of here." She explained

"We should go south." Mr.2 suggested.

"Go however you want we're going this way." Luffy told him pointing in a different direction.

"We have a meeting at twelve o'clock on the east coast." Nami said.

"We have to pick up a friend" Luffy explained.

When Mr.2 heard we were taking a huge risk for a friend he was touched.

"Listen men!" He turned to his crew "If we can't sacrifice ourselves in the name of friendship, then how can we call ourselves Okama. Listen Strawhat…"

Mr.2 explained that he'd take his crew and ship one way to draw the Marines off our ship. He used his Clone-Clone powers to look like Luffy and sailed off to confront the marines.

"Good Luck." Mr.2 said as he turned away.

We waited three minutes like he said and sailed off for the east coast. Luffy, Sanji, Chopper, Rose, and Usopp were over on the back of the boat screaming how they'd 'never forget him'

"We still have a problem." I said "Mr.2's plan wasn't fool proof, look."

In front of us was another Marine ship but this was much smaller than the last few. Luffy took care of the cannon balls they shot and the rest of us dealt with the one who boarded the ship.

"GET LOST!" Luffy yelled punching men left and right as the Marine's ship sank.

As we approached the shore we could hear Vivi giving a speech. It was becoming more likely that she wasn't coming with us.

"She'll come I just know it." Luffy insisted

"The Marines are coming!" Usopp warned.

"Come on Luffy we have to go. Vivi is just different from us." I told him trying to pull him off the railing.

"EVERYONE!" we looked to the shore and saw Vivi and Carue standing there.

Luffy told Nami to turn the ship back so we could pick up Vivi.

"I'm here to say goodbye." Most of the crew besides Zoro and I looked shocked by her decision.

"What's she talking about?" Luffy said.

"I can't go with you. Thank you for everything you've done. I want to go with you but, I really love this country so I can't leave! If we ever meet again…Will I still be your friend!"

"You'll…" Luffy started to answer Vivi but I grabbed his face and tackled him to the ground.

"Don't answer her. The Marines already saw her. If they find out Vivi is our friend she'll be finished." I looked up at the others "We leave without a word, understood."

Luffy did as he was told. Stood up and turned his back to Vivi. Luffy then thrust his hand into the air and pulled off the bandages we used to tell ourselves apart from Mr.2.

_This mark on our arm, Is a sign of our friendship!_

The rest of us followed Luffy's lead knowing that Vivi would get our message. We sailed away from Alabasta. Everyone but Zoro and I was depressed about Vivi's departure.

"If you wanted her to come so much you should have forced her." Zoro said.

I let him bicker with the others about Vivi. I had my own missing woman to think about.

_I guess I'll never see her again. This sucks._

"We made it out to sea. Good work."

_Wow I must be desperate, now I'm hearing her. _

"AHHH!" I heard everyone start screaming.

When I looked back I had to blink a few times to see if it was real. There she was 'Miss All-Sunday' Nico Robin. Everyone was screaming about how the woman had infiltrated the ship. Sanji was awe struck by the beautiful woman.

_BACK OFF! SHE'S MINE!_

"So you're alive." I said as she swatted everyone's weapons away.

"You say that like it's a surprise. Don't you remember what you did to me Mr. Steve?"

_I know what I want to do._

Sanji started choking me thinking I had violated the woman in some way.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her.

"I remember very clearly. You need to take responsibility." She told me

_Responsibility?_

"Just what is it that you want!" I yelled.

"Let me join your crew."

"EHHHH?!" everyone was dumbstruck by her request.

"You forced me to live when I wanted to die. Now I have nowhere to go. So let me stay on your ship." She said.

"Okay." I said allowing her onboard; everyone else wasn't thrilled with my choice "Don't worry she's not as bad as you all think."

Usopp asked the women a series of questions. I learned that her real name is Nico Robin; she's been an archeologist since she was eight, and the same age she became wanted by the Marines. She is also skilled in assassination and has the powers of the Flower-Flower Fruit, which allows her to grow limbs anywhere she wants.

_She not only beautiful she's smart too._

The other took a little time warming up to Robin. Luffy and Chopper took a liking to her fairly quickly as did Sanji. A bribe and Nami was on her side. The only ones holding out were Zoro and Rose.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

_What's with Steve, letting her on like it's no big deal? He probably only let her on because he thinks she's hot. Stupid woman. She's way too old for him! I've seen how he looks at her. It's disgusting! I need to keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't play with little bro's emotions._

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We settled back into our routine as the day went on, Robin came up to my seat near the figure head.

"Hello Captain." She said.

"You can just call me Steve you know." I told her "Or Handsome. Actually you can call me whatever you want Gorgeous!"

_God I'm desperate._

"You're just as lively as the rest. Don't think I don't see you. Looking at me with those piercing eyes." She said leaning in close

"I don't know what you're talking about." I smirked "Sometimes when I see a pretty lady I just can't look away. You happen to be one of those ladies. We should do something together sometime."

"Keep acting like that and you're gonna get yourself hurt." She said getting serious and backing away.

_What the hell? We had a flow going why'd she stop. Was it something I said?_

"Is this hail?" I heard Usopp say.

"Huh?" I looked up and it seemed like there was dirt falling from the sky.

"There's something falling from the sky!" Rose yelled.

The closer the small object got the larger it became.

"It's a galleon!" the ship slammed into the water and sent our ship flying around the waves.

"Luffy protect the ship. She can't take much more!" Sanji yelled.

After a minute or so everything calmed down and we settled back in. We were trying to figure out how a ship had fallen from the sky when Nami let out a high pitched scream.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The Log Pose is broken! It's pointing up and not moving!" she explained.

"It's not broken." Robin told her "It locked on to a magnetic field. It's locked onto a Sky Island."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**Yay Robin is finally here!**


	38. Chapter 38: Salvaging A Family

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

**NOTICE: This chapter has strong language!**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"There's really an Island in the sky!" Luffy yelled.

"Well not really, it's more like a sea." Robin explained.

That only made us even more confused than the concept of an island in the sky. Robin explained that she'd never seen an island in the sky herself but she had heard about them.

"You shouldn't worry about the Log Pose, you should worry about how were going to get there." Robin told Nami.

"I'm telling you this thing is broken." Nami said.

"It's not." I spoke up "There really may be an island up there. The Log Pose is never wrong."

"When I think about it I remember Mom and Dad talking about an island in the sky once." Rose said.

Luffy and Usopp pulled a coffin over from the wreckage of the ship and Robin began examining it. She carefully opened the box and examined its contents. She gently and meticulously reassembled a skull from the fragments in the coffin.

_She's amazing._

"This man died 200 years ago, around the age of thirty. He most likely died of a sickness. You can tell because his teeth are intact." She explained "His teeth are covered in rubber oil. This is a custom from the South Blue."

Robin took out a small book and scanned through the pages and found a picture of the ship that fell from the sky.

"All that just from a skull." Nami said amazed.

The ship started sinking and Luffy almost drowned. We pulled Luffy back to the ship and he showed us what he had found.

"Look! Look!" he yelled thrusting a paper into my hands.

"Relax." I took the paper and scanned it "It's a map of Sky Island."

I showed the others and they were just as surprised. Nami pointed out that even if we had a map we couldn't get there.

"You're the navigator, you figure it out." Luffy told her.

"We need more information, like Robin said." Nami told him "Since the ship sunk were just going to have to salvage it."

Usopp went and assembled some makeshift diving suits. We only had four so Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and I were going down into the wreckage and the others would stay and watch from above.

"Good luck guys." Nami said as she pushed us into the water.

We slowly sank down into the water. Along the way we saw giant sea monsters. Chopper called in to check on us and make sure we were able to answer him. We slowly came to a stop at the ruins of the ship. We were forced to walk in the silence of our own tanks. Once inside the ship we started to look around. Some guys showed up but there were easy enough to get rid of. Everything inside the ship crumbled upon touching it.

_This looks like a bust. Still I bet Robin would like it down here. _

The room we were in was suddenly penetrated by a huge claw.

"What the hell's going on?!" I yelled up to the others but no one answered.

Next thing we knew the room started to fill up with air. When the room dried out we decided to take off the barrels.

"What's going on? Is someone else trying to lift the ship?" Zoro asked.

"I hope Nami and Robin are ok. Rose too." Sanji worried.

I let out an audible growl and got stares. We tried to call the others and no one answered. One of the walls exploded and a monkey came into the room.

"Who dares cause trouble on my turf?"

"Cool a monkey." Luffy said to what I now realized was a human.

"Do I really look like a monkey?" the man asked getting excited.

"More than a real one." Luffy told him.

_What does that mean?_

We got to talking and had a good time under the sea in that ship.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

We were waiting for the boys to surface when a huge turtle showed up and ate the ship they were in.

"AHHH They got eaten alive!" Chopper yelled.

"This is a nightmare!" I said cowering in the corner.

The ship started rocking and getting pulled in by the turtle.

"If we don't cut the hoses we're going to get pulled in." Robin told us.

"We can't Zoro and Steve are still down there. They may be alive, have some faith!" I yelled at her.

_I thought she liked him. She's ruthless._

"Rose." Nami called me "You and Usopp cut the ropes to ensure our safety."

"You're the devil!" we both yelled.

The sky suddenly became very dark. A shadow was cast as far as the eye could see. We started screaming and flailing around trying to figure out what was happening. There was a thud and Luffy landed on the deck with a bag tied to his back.

"Let's go we're leaving!" Steve yelled climbing back onboard with Zoro and Sanji.

They started talking about a crazy gorilla. They didn't even see the giant turtle nearby.

"That monkey was probably Masira. He came to salvage that ship." Usopp explained.

We started getting the ship ready do we could set sail. Luffy woke up and started helping us.

"You're not going anywhere!"

Masira jumped out of the water and landed on the ship "You think you can steal the treasure form me?!"

Masira's men started screaming at their captain and pointing to the sky. When I turned around I saw them, three giant men with wings.

_I'm gonna take a nap now._

* * *

**Steve's POV**

*THUD*

I looked over and saw Rose pass out and fall onto the deck in a heap. Chopper and Zoro ran over to check on her. The rest of us ran to the oars and paddled as fast as possible to get to safety.

"PADDLE FASTER!"

When we saw light pass through the clouds we finally came to a stop. We recalled the long list of events that had transpired today.

"Yeah. That was scary"

We look over and saw that damn monkey. We ran up and threw him off the ship and told him not to come back. We dumped all the junk from the other ship on the deck to examine.

"This is all you brought back. It's Trash!" Nami yelled.

"This was all there was." Zoro told her.

"We don't need rusted old swords and an octopus. We need a logbook or a diary." Nami said stomping all our hard work.

"Come on that stuff was cool." Luffy yelled as Nami kicked his suit of armor.

"You are all morons!" Nami yelled stomping up the stairs.

Robin stopped her at the top and placed something in her hand. It was an Eternal Pose to a place called Jaya. She had apparently stolen it from the monkey-man's ship.

"You're the best Robin!" I yelled from the lower deck.

"Thank you captain."

"Again, please call me Steve." I told her.

Luffy started yelling at Nami that he wanted to go to the Sky Island not Jaya since he didn't want the Log to get recorded over.

"Luffy we can go to Jaya and get information and leave before the Log resets." I told him trying to calm him down

"Onward to Jaya!" Luffy cheered.

* * *

We started heading for Jaya and I went inside to take a nap. Unfortunately before I could fall asleep I was interrupted.

"Hey Lil bro, let's talk." Rose said entering the room.

"This is the men's room; you're not supposed to be in here. And you could at least knock." I told her.

"Doesn't matter, listen up." She said.

"Fine what is it?"

"Robin…Stay away from her."

_Excuse me?_

"What?" I tried to make sure I didn't miss hear her.

"I see how you look at her. Don't get to close to her."

"Since when do you tell me what to do?!" I yelled crawling out of my hammock.

"I'm your older sister I can tell you whatever I want. I don't want you hanging around with that woman!" She fought back.

"She has a name you know!"

"Regardless she's way too old for you!" she said pointing out a fact I was already aware of.

"You don't think I know that. So what. I don't care how old she is. I feel something and that's all that matters." I told her.

Of course I knew Robin was ten years older than me. I didn't care. As they say age is just a number.

"Come on Steve! Grow up and stops have stupid fantasies."

"Oh like yours with Zoro!" I told my twin.

"What I can't be attracted to a man, I am a grow woman you know! That reminds me if you can tell men to keep away from me why can't I tell woman to stay away from you!"

"Because I'm a brother and that's what we do we look out for our sisters!" I told her

"What try and control my life!" she yelled "Screw you! Guess what Zoro and I were already seeing each other before I joined you guys!"

_WHAT?!_

"So know your keeping secrets! Both of you! I can't believe this!"

_Thought he was my friend!_

"Where do you think you're going!" Rose yelled as I stormed up the stairs.

"To kill Zoro!"

"Stop! Get back here!"

I ignored her and stomped out onto the deck.

"Hey Steve wanna play tag?" Luffy asked

"Shut up Luffy!" I said pushing past him.

I found Zoro on training on the upper decks.

"You Son of a Bitch!" I ran up and punched Zoro in the face "I Trusted You!"

Zoro fell to the ground and a jumped on top of him and began delivering more punches.

"I thought you were my friend! Why'd you lie to me?!"

Zoro rolled me over and punched me "What are you talking about!"

"You told me you were just her friend! I told you to stay away from Rose!"

"She told you?"

"Yeah and you told me you were just friends! What the hell!"

"That's because she asked me to keep it from you! Glad to see she manned up and stopped letting you control her life! Now I can do whatever I want with her when you're around!"

I rolled Zoro over and went to punch him "YOU BASTARD!"

I was kicked off Zoro and crashed into the nearby railing.

"What the hell are you two doing?!" Sanji yelled.

Sanji was holding Zoro back from coming at me and Luffy and a Heavy point transformed Chopper were stopping me.

"Move Luffy I'm gonna kill him!" I tried wrestling out of his grip.

"Stop!" Luffy said pushing me back "You're being stupid!"

"ENOUGH!"

Rose yelled storming up to the deck "You're both wrong! Just calm down!"

"You!" she yelled walking up to Zoro and slapping him "How dare you talk to my brother like that. I asked you to keep it a secret so that this wouldn't happen. And when I tell him this is how you react, you gloat. I thought you were better than that Zoro."

He put his head down and Rose walked over to me and slapped me as well "And you. Stop it. We may be twins but we are our own people. Stop trying to control my life and I'll stop trying to control yours. Think Steve what was the last thing Mom and Dad said before they left.

I thought back to that day

"_Remember Steve you look out for Rose okay, and you look after your little brother alright Rose?"_

"They told us to look out for each other." I said starting to calm down.

"Exactly. But they didn't tell you to lock me away in a tower." She said looking at me with sad eyes.

Everyone was starting to calm down. I was still a little upset but Rose was right. I had to let her live her own life. There's nothing wrong with looking after her but she's capable of making smart decisions like who to date.

_Doesn't mean I have to like the guy._

"Now you two." Rose pulled me and Zoro toward each other "Say you're sorry."

We both stared at each other and begrudgingly shook hands "Sorry."

"Wow great effort guys." Usopp deadpanned.

*THUNK*

A group of seagulls crashed into the deck surprising everybody. Chopper ran over to them and found they'd been shot. Usopp told him they likely had been shot and just happened to die over the ship.

We arrived at Jaya a few hours later. It was awkward getting used to Rose hanging all over Zoro. I mean she did it before but now it just felt different. As we approached the island we saw more and more pirate ships docked along the bay.

"This place looks like fun!" Luffy yelled jumping off the ship with Zoro not to far behind.

Nami went after the boys to make sure they didn't get into trouble. Sanji wanted to go with Nami but Usopp and Chopper insisted they needed him to protect them. I was in the men's cabin changing my shirt as I had gotten blood on it during me fight with Zoro.

There was a knock at the door "Hello."

I turned around and saw Robin standing in the door way. I was embarrassed because I had no shirt on and Robin was looking at me.

_Awkward_

"What is with you girls barging in here?" I mumbled. I turned around and looked at her "Like what you see?" I asked slyly.

"Are you always this flirty?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"Only with you" I said throwing a blue shirt and black flannel on "What's up?"

"I'm going shopping. I thought I should let someone know." She turned to leave.

"Hey wait!" she looked back "You want a hand?" I asked.

_Please say yes._

"Sure, why not." She said.

_Score!_

We went to the upper deck and began to depart the ship.

"Where are you two going?" Sanji asked.

"Robin is going shopping and I'm helping her." I told him with a smug look.

Sanji glared back at me and then backed off. Despite our agreement to stay out of each other's love lives Rose still gave Robin and look as we walked away from the ship.

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**Sorry about the cursing in this chapter. Normally I try to keep the story pretty tame but I felt like it was necessary for that argument.**


	39. Chapter 39: Information on Sky Island

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We headed into Mock Town so Robin could by some clothes, we barely got to the first store when we saw a man screaming about being the champion.

"He's certainly lively." Robin said.

"Yeah, he should keep his mouth shut." I added.

"WHAT WAS THAT!" I man in question jumped down from the building he was on and confronted me "You wanna go!"

"Will that shut you up?" I asked.

"Steve stop." Robin told me.

"Alright, let's go." I turned to follow her into a nearby store.

"I see you need your girlfriend to fight you battle for you!" the man said as I was leaving "Maybe after I beat the crap out of you she come with me."

_Girlfriend? I wish. _

"What was that?" I turned back around.

"I said you girl should come with a real man."

"I'll kick your ass if you say one more thing about her."

"She should stop hanging around with little boys who don't know anything about women and get with a real man."

"SCREW YOU!"

I pulled back to punch the man but my fist was grabbed by a hand. I looked and saw an arm sporting from my shoulder and holding my wrist.

"I told you to stop." Robin said from the door of the store.

I arm disappeared and I put my fist down and walked away. I followed Robin into the clothing store ignoring the yells of the man outside.

"While I appreciated you sticking up for me you should learn when to let something go. Look what happened earlier on the ship with your sister." Robin brought up past events "Learn to just walk away sometimes."

_Way to make an ass out of yourself._

"You sound like Vivi." I told her

"She's a smart girl."

Robin went up and down the aisles of the store picking up various clothes, which I offered to carry for her. After about a half hour of just picking things out Robin went into the dressing room to try them on. I looked over and saw that the store had maps of the island and I picked one up to look at it. The island had two sides but most of the people lived on this one. I picked up the map to bring back to the ship figuring Nami could use it.

"HeHeHe."

I looked over towards where Robin was getting dressed to find a kid, probably about thirteen or fourteen, trying to look into the room.

I walked up behind the kid and cracked my knuckles "I should kick your ass for what you doing you little perv."

The kid jumped startled and tried to run away. I grabbed him by the collar and picked him up off the floor.

"Put me down!"

"Listen up brat. My friends and I are looking to get to the Sky Island. Maybe if you tell me some useful information I won't beat you senseless for creeping on my friend." I said glaring at the boy.

"Please don't hurt me! Ther…There's a man on the other side of the island. His name's Cricket. He's probably the only person on this island that thinks the Sky Island is real."

I dropped the kid and he ran out of the store.

Robin stepped out of the dressing room wearing a purple jacket and pants. She also had on a hat similar to the one she wore when we first met back in Whisky Peak.

"I like your outfit, you look good." I told her trying not to stare.

"Thank you. What was all that yelling?"

"Nothing, but I think I found a way for us to find out some more about this Sky Island." I told her.

* * *

I filled Robin in on what that brat had told me while we were checking out. I offered to pay but she insisted on doing it herself. As we made our way back to the Going Merry Robin used her 'skills' in a bar to get a little more information about this Cricket. Apparently he was kicked out of town for believing in dreams.

_There's nothing wrong with believing in your dreams. _

As we got back to the sip I could already hear the others screaming at each other.

"What now?" I groaned.

"Sounds like a fight." My partner told me.

"Where's you two go?" a bruised up Luffy asked.

"I went to get some clothes and Mr. Steve accompanied me" Robin explained.

"Luffy what happened to you?" I said concerned as I saw the bruises and cuts on his body.

"A fight." He said.

"Yeah I can tell. How's the other guy look? I assume worse?" I said.

"Nah he's fine." Luffy said.

"What do you mean 'Fine'?" I said getting serious.

"There's not a scratch on him."

"You let him beat you up!"

"Well there was no reason to fight so Zoro and I didn't bother." He explained.

_When did everybody become a pacifist?_

"Whatever. I'm just glad you not to hurt." I told him.

Robin explained to the others what we had found out about the man names Montblanc Cricket. We decided to head for the other side of the island so that we could talk to him and maybe find some way to get to the Sky Island. As we rounded one side of the island we saw a large ship with a Monkey like crew of divers onboard.

_Please not him._

Upon closer inspection we realized it wasn't Masira just a different furry man. The man rambled on and on about wanting Crocodile's seat among the Warlords.

"Let we tell you about myself. My name is Shoujou and I haven't cut my hair in my entire life. That mean I haven't cut it in twenty five years."

"You're only twenty five!" Rose yelled.

"Can you move were trying to pass." Luffy told him.

"This is my part of the sea, if you want to pass you'll have to pay the toll." The man told us.

Usopp pointed out that he talked like Masira. When the man asked how we knew him Luffy told him we kicked him off the ship.

"How dare you do that to my brother! I shall avenge him."

"Wait he's not dead." We tried to explain but the man was already screaming into a microphone.

"**Havoc Sonar!"**

A piercing scream spilt the air and started tearing the ship apart.

"Full speed! Get out of this thing's range!" Nami yelled

* * *

We moved the various parts of the ship and escaped the sound waves. WEesailed around to the other side of the island and found a weird house. The front was made to look like a castle but the back was nothing more than a small hut.

"Aww it's a fake!" Luffy whined.

"What's so special about this guy?" Nami said.

"He claims there's a large amount of gold on this island." Robin told her

"GOLD!"

Luffy wandered off into the man's house even though I told him not to. I followed him inside to try and pull him out but he kept looking around. When we went back outside Nami was reading from a picture book. It was a story called "Noland the Liar."

*Splash*

I looked over and saw Luffy fall into the water.

"Moron be careful!" I said running over to fish my friend out

As I got closer to the edge a man jumped out of the water and took up a fighting stance "Who are you? You here for the gold?"

"Usopp get Luffy!" I yelled back getting ready to fight the man.

He thrust his palm forward and I dodged the attack. I went to strike at the man myself but when I stood up I saw there was a pistol in my face.

"What the…!"

*BANG*

Somehow the bullet missed my face despite the fact he was at point blank range.

"STEVE!" I heard the others yell.

_I'm pretty sure I heard Robin. She concerned. Aww._

"I'm fine. This guy isn't Usopp."

I saw Sanji coming over to assist me but before he got close the man collapsed.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message any questions or concerns.**

**Sorry this one is a little short. I had a long day.**


	40. Chapter 40: Golden Oppertunity

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Chopper had us bring the man inside and lay him down. He explained that the man had decompression sickness. Chopper told us he'd be okay but he would need to be more careful in his diving. We were taking care of the sick man when two familiar faces burst in.

"Boss! Are you okay?!" the two monkey men yelled bursting in.

"Ahh! They're here to kill us!" Chopper and Usopp started running around screaming.

"What are you doing here!" the men asked.

"Taking care of him." Luffy explained

_They won't believe that._

"You're such great guys." they said crying.

_Holy crap they brought it._

We went outside to talk and the men explained that they were part of an alliance with the man in the house. Chopper called us in to tell us the diver had awoken.

"Hey Mr. Chesnutt-Head I wanna ask you something." Luffy said walking inside.

"Thank you for saving me. Sorry I thought you were trying to steal the gold." He explained.

Nami got all excited over the mention of gold, but Luffy kept to the task at hand.

"We wanna go to Sky Island. Tell us how to get there."

"Sky Island doesn't exist. There was a man who did but he was ridiculed and called a liar. His name was Noland." The man who had introduced himself as Cricket said.

Cricket explained that he was a descendent of the Noland from the story. His family still believed that Noland was telling the truth. He told us the story of how Noland died believing in what he saw. Usopp asked if he was trying to find the city of gold to prove Noland innocent. Cricket pointed the pistol from before at Usopp.

"Whether or not my ancestor was a liar or not doesn't matter. You don't have any idea what it's like, to be ridiculed by strangers just because of who your ancestors are."

Cricket explained he had no interest in clearing Noland's name, but one day he ended up on Jaya looking for the city of gold.

"This is a duel. Between me and the man who ruined my life." He explained.

He told us that the monkey men had joined up with him out of belief in the story.

"I was saying… How do we get to Sky Island?!" Luffy yelled.

"Yeah that is the reason we came here." I added.

Cricket handed Nami a book and told her to read a passage. Most of the passage was about something called a 'waver' after that was when the book got interesting.

"When speaking about the Sky Island, another adventurer showed me a sky fish. It's impossible to get there with my ship, but as an adventurer I hope to see it one day." Nami recited from the book.

"It's just like Robin said!" Luffy yelled.

"If that books true there's no doubt." I said high fiving Luffy.

We went outside to get some fresh air while Cricket explained what he knew about the Sky Island.

"Most of this is speculation, so it's up to you whether or not to believe me." Cricket told us.

"I believe you." Luffy said.

He started by talking about why the sea grows very dark. There are apparently very dark clouds in the sky that the sun doesn't pass through, Cumuloregalis. These clouds are like fossilized clouds that never ascend or rain.

"If the Sky Island does exist it must be on that cloud." Cricket said.

Luffy was ready to go right then but Nami 'remained him' that we still didn't know how to get up there. Cricket told us we'd need to ride a current called the 'Knock-up Stream'. Cricket was betting on the current and the clouds lining up so that we could get up to the sky.

"You'd be taking a huge risk; if there's nothing up there you'll fall back down and die." Cricket told us.

This of course terrified Usopp, who was now against going to the island. Then Cricket hit us with an ever more painful revelation.

"The current is to strong. Even a new ship would be blown to pieces. There's no way a scrap heap like that can make it. But I can solve that problem by reinforcing the ship."

Cricket invited us inside to eat and relax since we'd be going up to the sky tomorrow. We had our usual Strawhat party inside Cricket's home. The rest of us were having fun but Robin was off on her own reading in the corner.

"Hey." I said walking over and taking a seat next to her.

"Hello." She greeted.

"What'ch reading?"

"This Logbook, about Noland's journey and the city of gold. It's quite interesting."

"I saw the gold in the skull's right eye." Cricket said popping up out of nowhere.

"Holy Crap!" I yelled surprised.

"That's what it says on the page with the tear stains. I still don't understand what that passage means." Cricket explained.

Cricket went back to the party and talking about random birds. I sat with Robin reading over her shoulder.

_She looks so peaceful when she's reading._

"You should go back to the party. You can read anytime." I told her pulling her up off her seat.

"Wait…" I ignored her protest and pulled her back toward the others.

When we got to the others they were looking Cricket's gold. He had golden bells and birds.

"See had you kept reading you would have missed seeing this." I said.

"I guess so. These objects prove that and ancient civilization did exist here." She said in wonder.

Cricket started showing a large golden South-bird. They exist on Jaya and have extremely peculiar calls and can be used for navigation.

"OH CRAP!" Cricket and the monkey men yelled.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"You need to get to the forest and find a South-bird now!" Cricket said "You'll need it to direct you to the Knock-Up Stream."

Nami realized what he was talking about. We'd be unable to navigate on the Grande Line and find our way south. Since South-birds always point south one could show us the way to go.

"Quit talking and go. The three of us will get to work on the ship. You just find a South-Bird." Cricket said pushing us out of the house.

* * *

Usopp ran to the ship and grabbed some nets and then we ventured into the forest to find a South-Bird. We decided to split up into groups and look for the bird. Sanji went with Nami and Usopp. Luffy, Chopper and Rose went together. And Zoro was a third wheel in my group with Robin.

"I hear screaming." Robin said.

"Ignore it." Zoro said killing a giant centipede.

"There was really no need to kill that creature." Robin told him.

"It attacked me first." Zoro defended "Besides don't tell me what to do. I still think your hiding your intentions so I don't trust you."

"Zoro! Be quite, and you're going back the way we came." I yelled.

Just then we heard a deep bird call and began heading towards it. Along the way we kept coming across bugs that wanted to fight us. We tried but we didn't have any luck catching a South-Bird. We regrouped with the others hoping they had managed to find one but they also had no luck. We heard the laughing and saw a South-Bird which Chopper said was gloating about how we didn't catch him. Arms sprouted from the bird and he fell to the ground.

"It's much easier to catch it if I can see it." Robin explained.

We made our way back to Cricket's house and when we got there the place looked like a warzone. The house was trashed and the front half of our ship was torn off.

"Luffy! The gold is gone!" Nami yelled out.

"Doesn't matter. With the help of the alliance we can fix your ship before dawn. I will send you to the sky." Cricket told us.

"Hey…Luffy." Zoro pulled him aside and showed him a mark painted on the house "You want help?" Zoro asked.

"No. I'll take care of it." Luffy told him.

"We can get back to town if we follow the shore right?" I asked Robin who told me I was correct.

"Stop fooling around there's only a few hours till dawn. We don't have time for this." Nami yelled.

"We'll be back by dawn." Luffy told them as we made our way towards town.

"If you're late our only chance at Sky Island will be lost, understand." Nami told us before we left.

* * *

"This is the bar." Luffy said stopping in front of a building.

"Well then let's get started."

"Bellamy! Where are you?!" Luffy yelled from atop a nearby building.

A man walked out of the bar and looked up towards where he was.

"You Bellamy?" I asked the man when he walked out.

"What's it to you?"

"My friend wants to talk to you." I told him.

"Give back the gold." Luffy said.

Bellamy's legs turned into springs and he jumped up to where Luffy was.

_Devil Fruit._

The two had a small conversation I couldn't hear from down on the ground but I did catch one line when Bellamy started screaming.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO THROW A PUNCH?!"

The crowd around us was talking about Luffy and his bounty.

"The legitimacy of the 30 million Beli bounty is doubtful to." A man in a large fur coat said.

I walked over and looked at this man "I assure you it is real. Luffy is worth 30 million."

"Look his face is on this poster, it says he's worth 80 Million." I heard a man mumble.

_I thought I was worth 15. Did it go up?_

There was a loud bang and the tower Luffy was on collapsed. Luffy landed but Bellamy started jumping all over the place.

"**Spring Hopper!"**

Bellamy jumped all over the place yelling about how the age of dreams was over. Luffy was keeping up with the man's jumps and saw when I moved to come at him.

"What a fool." I said.

"What did you say?" The fur coat guy asked.

"I said your friends a fool. Not only does he not believe in dreaming but he underestimated Luffy and now he'll pay for it."

"You shut up!" the man yelled.

I saw that the man was swinging at me with a large oversized knife. I pulled out my whip and broke the blade in two with one swing. The other collided with his back knocking him to the ground.

"Just sit and watch." I told him.

In one move Luffy slammed his fist into the airborne Bellamy knocking him out cold with one punch.

"Hey Bellamy get up. You gotta teach these punks a lesson."

"Where is the gold?" I said glaring at the man in the coat.

They quickly ran inside and threw the bags of gold to Luffy and I.

"Let's go Luffy." I said as we ran out of the destroyed town.

_We better get back in time._

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**It didn't come across in this chapter but I really like Bellamy. I think he has a cool Devil fruit. I hope he sticks around in some capacity after the current arc. Whether it's on the main crew or with Law or Barty.**


	41. Chapter 41: Knock-Up Stream to the Sky

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attack**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

I had to drag Luffy back to Cricket's house because he kept getting distracted and running after beetles. We made our way back to the house and saw the others loading things on the boat.

"Hey we're back!" Luffy yelled as we got closer "I caught a Hercules!"

"You were supposed to get the gold and get back!" Nami yelled.

"Sorry!" I told her.

I got a look at The Merry. The ship now had wings and a fin. The Ship went from looking like a ram to looking like a chicken.

"It's so cool!" Luffy said in awe.

"It's something all right." I said uneasily.

Luffy and I dropped the gold off with Cricket and he told us to get going.

"Thank you…For the ship." We said.

"Thank them not me." Cricket said pointing to the monkey brothers.

"Thanks!" Luffy yelled "I'll give you my Hercules."

"Come on Luffy we have to go." I pulled him back towards the ship.

We hopped onboard and got the ship all set to leave. Before we left Cricket had one last thing to say.

"We have to part here. Just remember, no one had ever disproved the existence of Sky Island. Others may laugh at us but who cares. Adventure like this is for the romantics!"

We pulled away from the shore and headed to the Knock-Up Stream. Masira and Shoujou explained what we were going to have to do to get to the Sky Island. We had to find the Knock-Up Stream, which appears in a different place each time. We relaxed on our way to the Knock-Up Stream. There was nothing to do just wait till we got there.

* * *

It took three hours but we made it to our destination. We saw the magic cloud in the distance and started making a B-line for it. We had found the cloud earlier than expected so they had to rush to find were the current would appear.

"Turn your ship to ten o'clock that's where the current is. Follow the whirlpool." Masira told us.

The ship got tossed back and forth by the waves but Nami said the Log kept pointing at the cloud above us.

"We'll take you to the edge of the whirlpool, after that head to the center and it'll be up to you." Masira told us attaching a mooring line to the ship.

We got into the whirlpool and saw that even a Sea King had been sucked in and was struggling to stay afloat. Usopp begged us to turn back but Luffy told him no.

"If we miss this chance we'll regret it for the rest of our lives."

We hit the rim and jumped into the center of the whirlpool. As we got closer the swirl disappeared and the ocean calmed. Then the whirlpool appeared under the surface and the current began to form.

"Hey Zoro!" Luffy pointed out that there was another group following us "It's that guy from the bar."

"It's that guy who was picking a fight with me." I pointed out to Robin.

"I'm here for your 100,000,000 Beli bounty!" The man yelled.

"What's he talking about 100 million?" Luffy said.

The man held up his hands and had four posters one for Luffy, one for me, one for Zoro, and one for Rose.

'**Strawhat' Monkey D. Luffy- 100,000,000**

'**Torturer' Steve- 80,000,000**

'**Pirate Hunter' Roronoa Zoro- 60,000,000**

'**Deathblossom' Rose- 10,000,000**

"It's true Zoro!" Usopp said looking though a pair of binoculars "You and Rose are both wanted pirates!"

Sanji begged Usopp to keep searching for one of him but there wasn't.

_This makes five people on this crew with bounties. Five out of nine is more than half. Things may get bad._

"Stay focused it's coming!" Shoujou yelled.

The sea started to bubble and Nami told us to hang onto something or get inside. Then the water erupted up towards the sky taking our ship with it. The ship was vertical on the water.

_This is incredible!_

"YEAH!"

"The ship's lifting up!" Sanji yelled killing the mood "If this keeps up we'll fall off!"

The Sea King from earlier dropped out of the sky and went back towards the sea below. Nami told us to lower the sail so we could catch the updraft from the lower explosions. We lowered the sail and the ship lifted up off the water and started flying.

"I wonder what's at the top." Luffy said.

"We'll now soon pal." I told him as we broke through the cloud.

We were thrown around the ship as it reached the top of the cloud. Everyone was on the floor catching their breath.

"We're sailing on top of the cloud!" Luffy yelled leaning over the railing.

I stood up and took a look around. The ship was floating on the sky, somehow we weren't sinking.

"This is a sea of sky!" Nami said in awe "But the Log is still pointing up."

"Maybe this is only the middle part of the cloud." Robin proposed.

"So we need to keep climbing?" I said.

"I suppose so." Robin said.

"I Captain Usopp will now swim in the sky!"

"Don't fool around. We don't know anything about this place." Sanji told Usopp who just jumped off the ship anyway.

Usopp was down there swimming for a while.

"Uhh…he's not coming back up." Rose said.

"Just a thought." Robin started "does this sea have a bottom?"

Luffy threw his hand into the cloud to try and find Usopp but he couldn't see where Usopp was to fish him out. Robin sprouted eyes on Luffy's arm so that we could find Usopp.

"Okay pull him up." Robin said as Luffy reeled in his arm.

Usopp surfaced from the cloud being chased by a group of large fish. Zoro slashed the octopus chasing Usopp and the mollusk popped like a balloon. Sanji and Luffy took care of a snake that had followed Usopp up as well.

_These fish were made to live in the sky. _

Usopp pulled a flat fish out of his pants and began whining about how he hates this place.

"He's having a rough day." Robin remarked.

"Did you see the teeth on that thing? I don't want it near there either." I told her.

Robin picked up the fish and examined it. She said this was like the fish described by Noland in his Logbook. She said the fish had evolved to live in the sky, they became like balloons so they could float.

"Don't eat it!" Nami yelled as Luffy devoured the fish we were looking at.

"Look a ship…And a person." Chopper said looking ahead.

Chopper started screaming but most of it was gibberish except a few words "There's a Human coming!"

"Die!" The figure said jumping towards the ship.

"He's looking for a fight." Rose pointed out taking out a knife.

The man jumped towards me and I swung at him and missed. He kicked me in the face but it felt like I got shot by a cannon. I looked over and saw that he had wiped the floor with the others as well. The man was about to shot the ship with a bazooka but a different person stepped in and stopped him.

"Who's this guy?" Nami asked.

"I am the Sky Knight."

The masked man flew off and a man I armor remained.

"God I'm tired." I said panting trying to catch my breath.

The man in the armor gave me a look while Robin explained that the air was thinner up here so it was harder to breath.

"Did you people come from the blue sea?" The Sky Knight asked.

"If you mean were from below here then yes." I told him.

The man said that it was difficult for blue sea people to survive up here. We had adjusted pretty quickly though so it was no problem. The Sky Knight explained that he was a mercenary who would protect us for 50,000,000 Extol.

_What are those? Is that the money up here?_

The man wanted to know why we didn't know what these 'Extols' were. He assumed we had been to an island or two. He said that there was a second way to get up to Sky Island. He did warn us that taking the other ways most likely have killed all but two or three of us.

"Blow this whistle if you even need assistance." The Sky Knight said tossing us a whistle.

The man introduced himself as Gan Fall 'The Sky Knight' and his birds name was Pierre, a bird who ate the Horse-Horse Fruit. The Bird looked pretty nasty in horse form.

_Not very majestic._

We decided to head to a nearby waterfall since we had no other ideas on where to go. We got closed to the waterfall but couldn't find a way past. Luffy tried punching the cloud but his hand bounced off. Luffy was using the cloud like a trampoline. We saw a door behind the waterfall and headed towards it.

"Heaven's Gate?" Nami wondered as we pulled closer.

As we pulled past an old woman stepped out and took a bunch of pictures. She then told us we had to pay a one billion Extol entrance fee.

"Um…We don't have the money." Nami nervously told her.

"You can still go through."

"WHAT!"

"How do we get up?" Luffy asked.

A giant shrimp appeared and grabbed the ship and pulled us away from the gate and into the Sky Island.

"YAHOO"

On the way up we passed by a sign reading 'Godland Skypiea'

"This is it!"

The shrimp threw us onto another level of the cloud and we were even higher. There was an island in the sky. An island situated on clouds.

Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper jumped off and ran to the shore.

"It's so soft!" Luffy yelled.

Almost everybody had gotten off the ship except for me and Robin.

"Will you be getting off?" She asked me.

"Yeah just a sec. I didn't want to leave you alone on the ship." I told her.

"I never thought, sail could be this enjoyable." The archeologist said.

"Yeah it's something special."

I gave Robin a hand getting off the ship and we headed to the shore. Walking on the clouds was strange everything was so fluffy. We decide to take the opportunity to relax while we were here.

"It's an angel!" Sanji yelled out of the blue

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	42. Chapter 42: God's Trial

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

There was a real live angle playing a harp not too far from our spot on the beach. She looked over towards our group.

"Heso. Are you Blue sea people?"

"We flew up from the bottom." Luffy explained as the girl helped him cut open a pumpkin shaped fruit.

"I'm Conis." The girl said introducing herself "If you need anything just ask."

Before Nami could ask the girl any of her questions we were interrupted by Conis' dad riding a 'Waver'. The man flew past on the strange machine and slammed into a tree.

"That machine looks like the thing we fished out of the shipwreck." I said.

"And it matches the description from Noland's Logbook." Robin added.

Conis' father introduced himself as Pagaya. They invited us to their home to eat. Before we went up Nami asked them how the Waver worked. Luffy tried to take the Waver for a ride but crashed once he got out over the water.

"I wonder what will happen to Luffy in the sea of clouds." I wondered aloud.

Luffy started sinking and flailing around screaming for help. I swam over and fished him out swimming us back to shore. By the time I got back to shore Nami had already perfected how to operate the Waver. Nami decided to stay and mess around on the Waver, while the rest of us went to Conis' house to eat.

Along the way Pagaya explained how they were able to have buildings erected and live atop the clouds "There are two natural types of cloud. 'Sea cloud' and 'Island cloud', we harvest the island cloud to use it to build and live on."

He also said the clouds have similar molecules to the Seastone that weakens Devil Fruit users. When we got inside Sanji went to help Pagaya with the food while Conis taught us about these 'dials'. She explained that the dials were just corpses of ancient sea creatures that had the ability to do many things. We saw a tone dial which could repeat sound, wind-dials which could blow out wind, and light dials which held…well light.

"These things are impressive. A ton of possibilities." I remarked.

"Dials are used for everything up here." Conis explained.

Sanji and Pagaya brought out the food and we sat down to eat. Sanji waited to eat because he was busy looking for Nami. Conis was worried that had gone too far out.

"Wadda mean?" Rose asked with a mouthful of food.

"Slob." I mumbled.

"Heard that!"

"There's a place no one in Skypiea is supposed to enter. Upper Yard, the Place Where God Lives." Conis told us.

"So no one is supposed to go there?" Luffy asked with a glint in his eye.

"Yes! No one!" Conis affirmed.

"Don't even think about it! God lives there!" Usopp said shaking Luffy.

"Yeah no one should go there." Luffy said flapping his hand.

_He's totally going._

"We don't know if Nami is even there. We shouldn't jump to conclusions." I told Luffy as he shoved more food in his mouth.

"You said you had a waver? I'd be willing to look at it for you." Pagaya told us.

"Really?" Luffy said.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

We headed back down to the beach so that Pagaya could take a look at the Waver we found.

"Can you fix it?" Luffy asked the old man.

"I'm not sure I'll have to open it up." He explained.

There was a commotion coming from the stairway nearby. We turned our attention towards the noise. There was a group of men crawling along the ground in our direction.

"Halt~" the lead man yelled.

Conis and Pagaya greeted the man with the usual greeting from up here. Sanji wanted Luffy to ignore them so we could go get Nami.

"You! The Blue Sea people have illegally entered Skypiea." The captain told us "Don't deny it we have this picture as proof."

The man held up a photo of us when we passed through that gate earlier.

"This must be a mistake Captain McKinley. These are good people." Pagaya said defending us.

"The situation isn't that serious, there is no need to panic." McKinley told the man "this is only a class eleven crime. This will go away if you just pay the fine. You'll become regular tourists."

"What's the fine?" Steve asked

"Ten billion Extol for each person. So nine people, 90,000,000,000." The captain explained

"What! How much is that in Beli?" Usopp asked.

"One Beli is equivalent to ten thousand Extol."

"So we owe seven million Beli." Robin explained.

The man wanted to give us another fine because we owned the broken Waver. Nami had arrived back at the beach while we were fighting the fines.

"Nami do we have seven million Beli to pay a fine?" Usopp asked.

"That's way too expensive!" Nami yelled crashing into Captain McKinley.

Nami dragged Luffy and I back to the ship so we could leave and not anger 'God'. The captain who Nami crashed into said we were now class five criminals and were sentenced to a place called the drifting cloud. The enemies fired arrows which mad clouds at us.

"Nami get on the ship." Luffy pushed Nami back as the arrows flew past.

The men soared past on riding on the clouds with strange skates. They attacked us with swords but Luffy and I dodged them.

"I see, you have cool shoes." I remarked.

"**Knife Rain!" "Gum-Gum Firework!"**

The others hopped off the ship to help Luffy and I. We realized that we could never pay that fine since we always have to spend the money on Luffy's food.

"You Blue-sea people should have just left. Now you are class two criminals! You fate is now up to the priest of Upper Yard!" The man and his troop walked off.

"Seems like we're already being chased." Steve remarked.

Nami wanted to leave right now but Luffy scolded her for missing the biggest adventure of her life. Nami asked Conis how we could get back down and she explained we had to go to a place called cloud end.

"Mr.? Can I have the food from earlier?" Luffy begged.

Luffy, Steve, Sanji, and Usopp went back to Conis' house to get some things while the rest of us got the ship ready. Nami wanted to leave but Zoro told her there was no changing Luffy's mind so she should accept it. The ship suddenly lurched and began moving on its own.

"Zoro did you lift the anchor?" I asked.

"No it's that thing!" He yelled pointing under the ship "Actually don't!"

When I peeked over the edge there was a giant shrimp like the one from earlier dragging the boat on its back.

"So it's started" Robin said quietly "Heaven's Judgment."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

I followed Luffy back to the house to make sure he didn't take too much food. Sanji put together some lunchboxes while Usopp was adding supplies to his toolbox.

I was outside looking out over the beach when something caught my eye. The Going Merry started moving on its own

_Where are they going?_

"Hey guys." I called out to the others in the house with me.

The others came over and saw what I did and began to panic like I had.

"There sailing backwards!" Luffy yelled.

"Look! Under the ship!" Usopp yelled out.

When we looked under the ship there was a large shrimp carrying the ship out to sea. Before long the ship was out of sight and we were the only ones left.

"They're gone."

"Where are they going?" Luffy asked.

"That shrimp transports sacrifices. I'm afraid you friends are headed to the sacrificial alter." Pagaya explained.

"Sacrifices!" Sanji yelled.

"There are two types of punishment, sacrifices and judgment. You friends are the sacrifices, so you four are the ones being judged." The old man explained.

Usopp pulled out the map and Pagaya showed us were we would have to go to rescue our friends. We were going to have to go in the front door because that's the only way in.

"So in order to get the crew and the ship back we have to play be their rules" Sanji wrapped it up.

"This is our trial, Heaven's Judgment." Usopp said trying to put on a brave face.

"We'll have to deal with those priests Nami told us about." Luffy said with a smile.

"Looks like you got your adventure after all Luffy." I said with a smile.

* * *

We changed our clothes into more comfortable combat attire and got ready to leave. I had ditched my usual outfit for a pair of plaid shorts and a green tee-shirt. I also added a blue bandana to my neck.

_I look good if I do say so myself._

Conis led us through town down a road called Lovely Street, the main street of the island. Everyone in town gave us nasty looks and stopped talking when we walked past.

"They don't like us much." Usopp said.

"Probably because we're criminals." Sanji told him.

Luffy kept getting distracted and running off towards shops and I had to pull him back every time.

_Another day of the usual._

"Focus Luffy we don't have time to fool around." I told him.

"Well we don't have to save them since Zoro and Rose are with them."

_Zoro…And…Rose._

"We have to hurry!" I told him grabbing him by the collar and dragging him.

A little further up the street we passed by a statue.

"This is Vearth" Conis explained.

Whatever that idol was supposed to symbolize went over our head so Conis continued to lead us to the port. When we got there all you could see was boats.

"These are all powered by dials" Coins explained looking off in to the distance.

_She's been like that since we left the house._

Conis showed us out boat, The Crow. It was a small tiny vessel barely capable of holding the four of us.

"That one's better." Luffy said looking at a much larger boat nearby.

Sanji made Luffy apologize for hurting Conis' feelings. Conis gave us the directions to get to Upper Yard so we could save our friends. She looked unusually nervous when doing it.

"Are you feeling alright Conis? You've been trembling since we left." I pointed out.

"The others are avoiding us but you brought us here and gave us a boat." Usopp added "Are you sure you won't get in trouble."

"You look kinda pale." Luffy said "We could have come alone if you were scared."

"I…It's not like that. Don't you find it strange, the details I gave you about the trial, leading you here?" She whispered.

The crowd began to mumble. Telling her not to say stupid things.

_Something's up._

"Can't you just run away?" she said kneeling on the ground "I'm sorry! It was me! I called the express shrimp! If we see a criminal we have to lead them to the execution ground."

_Stupid girl._

"You idiot" Luffy told us "You had no choice, so why…"

"WHY'D YOU TELL US?!"

"You're going to get attacked!" Luffy yelled at the girl.

The sky darkened and rumbled. The people in the streets began to run away screaming. Luffy grabbed Conis and tried to avoid what was coming but the attack was too large. A huge laser came from the clouds and annihilated Luffy and Conis.

"Luffy! Where are you!" I yelled out hoping for a response.

"These two are safe."

The Sky Knight had saved Luffy and Conis just in time. He put Luffy back in the ground and told us he would look after Conis and her father.

"Let's go." Luffy said hopping into our small boat "To Upper Yard."

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	43. Chapter 43: The Priest

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We slowly sailed towards the forest in the Upper Yard. It took a while but we made it to the entrance.

"Ready everybody?" I asked "Last chance to turn back."

"Let's go!"

As well slowly proceeded forward there was an eerie feeling due to all the skulls and blades in the river. We had to dodge swinging axes and saw blades.

"Paddle faster!"

"What the hell is this place?!"

A short distance past the axes we got attacked by a giant lamprey. Eventually we reached the end of the path and had to choose from one of four entrances to go to next.

"Ordeal of String, Ordeal of Iron, Ordeal of Swamp, and Ordeal of Spheres. I guess er have to pick one." Sanji said.

"Probably doesn't matter we'll end up having to do them all in the end." I told him.

"Let's go to sphere's that one sounds the most fun." Luffy said.

"Fine spheres it is. At least that one sounds remotely tame." I said agreeing with Luffy.

We sailed into our chosen tunnel and it got very dark. When we came out of the tunnel we fell right off a cliff. We splashed down at the bottom of the cliff in a forest full of floating balls.

"What kind of trial would we have here?" Luffy pondered "If I had known it be this boring I'd have chosen a differ route."

We calmly sailed through the forest waiting to see if there was some kind of trail here. Luffy and Usopp started playing with the clouds much to my behest. Suddenly the one they were bouncing popped open and a snake jumped out. Sanji tried to kick another that was coming towards the boat away but when his foot touched it the cloud exploded.

"What's with these things?!" Usopp yelled out.

"They're called Surprise Clouds."

We looked up and saw a very round man dancing around on the spheres floating past.

"Who are you?" Sanji asked the man "Are Nami and the other girls okay."

"You shouldn't worry about them. Worry about yourself, if you can't get past me you can't save them anyway." The man told us.

Luffy went to attack the man but his punch was easily dodged. The man put his palm near Luffy's face and blew him back.

"What the hell was that? A normal punch shouldn't affect Luffy." I said in fear.

"It wasn't a normal punch." The man explained.

Sanji ran at the man but his attack was avoided again.

"I saw that, with the power all God's priests have Mantra." The man explained as he blew Sanji away like he had Luffy.

_What's with this guy?_

"**Whip Crush!"**

"You are going to swing vertically right for my chest." The man said spinning to dodge my attack **"Impact."**

"Gah!"

I got sent flying back into a tree.

_Feels like I exploded form the inside._

"My name is Satori, one of God Eneru's Priests." The man said introducing himself "and this is my forest of illusion. One of which is you boat. You better catch it or you never get out."

_The boat floating towards the exit on its own._

"This is my ordeal of spheres. The survival rate is 10%"

Usopp went off to stop the boat and Luffy, Sanji and I stayed behind to deal with the fat man.

"**Gum-Gum Pistol!" "Whip Lash!"**

Satori avoided the attack and grabbed Luffy's arm and my whip and pulled us together. Luffy and I collided and banged our heads into each other.

"Now where did those other two go?"

The priest flew off after the two and I had to collect myself and Luffy from the floor.

"Get up you lazy moron!"

"YAAA!… where'd he go?"

Luffy and I ran after the priest and found him attacking Usopp. Luffy ran up and used **Gatling** which sent most of the orbs flying and knocking into each other.

_Crap. It like were stuck on a pool table._

One flew at me and I tried to whip it away. When I hit the ball a shock came through the whip and burnt my hand.

"It's full of electricity." I said trying to cool by hand.

Luffy fell through the river and grabbed a vine to fly away from the priest.

_Idiot_

Now Usopp and Luffy were both swinging around the forest on vines and ropes. Sanji and I pulled the two down and beat some sense into them.

"Stop screwing around. You listen to me got it." I told them.

"Yes sir."

"Now let's forget about the boat for the time being."

_Something's coming!_

I ducked and saw a hand appear above my head.

"I missed?"

"**Crush elbow!"** I slammed my elbow into the man's face and knocked him over "Don't sneak up on me."

The man got up and collected a large group of spheres and assembled them in a line **"Sphere Dragon!"**

"Your boat is getting farther and farther away. You all finished." Satori taunted.

Luffy tried to attack but he missed yet again. The priest explained that if we hit the wrong sphere the whole dragon would explode.

_How's he moving that thing?_

I looked closer and saw that the dragon was being led around by the rope on its head.

"Luffy cut the rope so he can't control the dragon!" I yelled out.

Luffy did as he was told but the priest pulled the other side of the rope and Luffy dragged the spheres towards him. The resulting explosion shook the forest but somehow Satori was still standing.

"That was dangerous." Luffy told the man holding onto his back.

"You're not dead! Let go of me."

"Don't let him go." Sanji said floating over on a ball.

Sanji gave some dumbass speech the ended in him saying he was starting the 'Ordeal of Love'

"That foresight of yours is useless if you can't move to dodge." I told the man.

"**Concasse!" **Sanji foot slammed into the top of the man's head finishing him off.

"Hey I found the boat let's go!" Usopp yelled.

We used Usopp's dumb hook-shot weapon to catch up to the boat. We got bounced around a lot but we did end up back in the boat.

"OWW!"

"Next time I'll use my arms" Luffy said.

We escaped the forest and exited out into what looked like a mass grave. Inside that graveyard we were passed over by a group of warriors on those sky skates. One of the men fired a bazooka at us but Luffy launched it back.

"That was the guy who attacked us when we got up here." I pointed out.

"If you don't want to die, go back to your Blue Sea. Otherwise I'll end you like I'm going to end Eneru." The man skated off into the forest following his allies.

_What's with him?_

"Get back here bastard!"

"Let him go Luffy, we have more important things to worry about." I said settling Luffy down.

_We have to find Rose and Robin. Maybe if I save her she'll give me a thank you kiss._

"What's with that look on your face?" Luffy said staring at me

"Shut up rubber boy."

We spent the rest of the day following the Milky Way hoping to get to the end and find our friends and our ship still intact. We hit one last drop and arrived at a lake with a large alter at the center.

"There it is!" Luffy yelled.

We sailed up to the alter and found the others had just arrived back at the ship. Speaking of the ship she was in bad shape. The mast was missing and there were burn marks all over. Apparently the ship was attacked by one of the priest and Chopper had to call the Sky Knight to come help him. Both the ship and Gan Fall were hurt in the fight.

"We can stay on the land tonight it'll be easier to fight there if something happens." Sanji suggested.

"Yay camping!" Luffy yelled hoping off the ship.

* * *

We set up camp along the shore and each recounted the day we had. Usopp compiled all the information and wrote it down. We had learned that the priests had the ability of Mantra, so they could predict our moves. Nami said that this island used to be part of Jaya and the lost city of gold was up here in the sky.

"An island of gold huh?" I said

"Sounds like an adventure." Luffy said

We looked at each other and smiled, the message understood.

"It's decided! We're gonna steal that gold!" We yelled.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**NOTE: Updates of this story will be changing to alternate updates with my new Fairy Tail story "The Long Journey"**


	44. Chapter 44: SNAKE!

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

While Sanji had the others help him with dinner Nami and I worked on a plan for getting the gold.

"Alright everyone listen up!" Nami yelled "Let's talk about the plan for tomorrow."

Nami did a quick review of Noland's stories so that everyone was up to speed. When Nami put the mine and Robin's map of Jaya with the map of Skypiea we found we saw that the formed the shape of skull.

"Noland said the gold was in the skull's right eye." Nami told everyone "So this is where the gold must be." Nami said pointing to the eye on the map.

"Tomorrow we'll split into two teams. One will go for the gold and the other will go and take the ship down the river." I explained "Luffy, Zoro, Rose, Chopper, Robin and I will go get the gold. Sanji you and Usopp will take Nami and the boat down the river."

We finished eating and started cleaning up. I could tell Luffy was already getting ready for his pre-adventure party.

"We should put out the fire; we wouldn't want to give away our position." Robin said.

"Did you hear that?" Luffy groaned at me "She wants to put out the fire."

"Now Luffy be nice, Robin's had a tough life. She wouldn't understand." I told him.

"Understand what?" The woman said glaring at me.

_It's like she looking through my soul._

"If we're camping we have to have a campfire." Luffy and I moaned.

"You two are ridiculous! What about those priests or the guerrillas! Not to mention the beast in the forest!" Nami yelled.

"Yo!" Zoro called "This big enough?"

"No needs to worry animals are scared of fire." Sanji told her as he held up a torch.

"Behind you!"

Behind the chef there was a pack of wolves. Chopper said the wolves were just looking to party with our bonfire. We lit the bonfire and started our usual celebration. I noticed Robin was off on her own not joining in on the fun.

"What's up?" I asked the woman taking a seat near her.

"There quite lively." She pointed out.

I looked over and saw everyone having fin dancing around the fire

"Yeah, we got a lot of unique personalities. We're all so different but so similar to." I said with a smile.

I archeologist stared off looking at the forest, she looked unfocused.

"Is something bothering you, why don't you join in on the fun?"

"I'm fine right here." She said with a smile.

"You even made friends with the sky wolves." We turned around and saw Gan Fall walking around.

"Are you sure you should be up?" Robin asked him.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to help you but I only ended up causing you trouble." Gan Fall said apologizing for no reason.

"What are you talking about? You saved Chopper, that's more than enough." I told him.

The old man filled us in and told us that Conis and her father were safe and far from Eneru.

"I couldn't help but overhear. This place used to be part of Jaya, an island form you sea." The man said "But do you know why we call this Holy Land?"

We just stared at the man unsure of what to say.

He picked up and handful of dirt "Where you come from this is quite common, but up here it is unheard of. We call it Vearth; it is an object of admiration and worship."

* * *

Eventually the party died down and we all fell asleep. Robin helped me but out the fire before she went to bed herself. I packed it in after Usopp left got back from going to the bathroom complaining about seeing a ghost. I looked over from where I was sitting and saw Robin was already fast asleep.

_She looks so peaceful. _

When I awoke the only person up was Robin.

"Morning." I said rubbing my eyes "ready to get started?'

"Today should be interesting." She said.

"Yeah, I have a feeling today will be eventful." I told her.

Everyone else got up shortly after. Usopp and Chopper managed to get the ship off the alter after a few attempts. During the night someone had repaired the ship.

_I don't know who did it, but as they say 'Never look a gift horse in the mouth.'_

Sanji, Usopp, Nami, and the Sky Knight got onboard and started sailing down the river telling us they meet us at the rendezvous point.

"Let's get moving. We have an island to cross." I told Luffy walking into the forest.

"Let's go!"

We hadn't even entered the forest and Zoro was already walking off in the other direction.

"It's this way you dolt!" Rose said grabbing his wrist.

Everyone but Robin had no idea where we were supposed to go so we just followed her.

_This is embarrassing. Six people in this group and only one knows where to go._

Along the way Luffy wanted something interesting to happen. He whined about not seeing the priest that attacked Chopper.

_Did he forget we fought one of them ourselves?_

"Does he really want something to happen that badly?" Robin asked.

"Probably, he's always looking for something to do." I said.

"AHHHH!"

*HISS*

We turned around and saw a giant snake tearing down the trees to get to us.

"Oh Crap!" I yelled.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" Rose screamed.

"It's huge." Robin observed.

_No Shit!_

"Run!" Luffy yelled laughing.

We split up to avoid the snake's bite. The teeth of the beast clamped down on a nearby tree and the poison worked like acid, melting a hole in the wood.

"Don't touch the poison!" Zoro yelled.

I swung up into a tree to avoid the snake and looked down and saw Rose had passed out on the ground and the snake was looking right at her.

"Big Sis get up!"

The snake went to wrap him tongue around her. An arm grabbed rose by her jacket and pulled her away from the monster.

"Gotcha!" Luffy pulled Rose to him and slung her over his shoulder.

The snake ran after the other members of my group, splitting us up. I looked down from the tree I was in and saw Robin on the ground. I jumped down to her level. I must have spooked her because she gasped when I landed.

"Sorry about that." I said "have you seen anyone else?"

"I'm afraid not. Where not too far from where we were when that that thing attacked. Should we wait here or keep going and regroup later?" she asked.

"Let's keep going. Zoro won't be able to find his way back here anyway. I saw Luffy run off with Rose so he and Chopper will have to figure it out themselves." I told her.

We headed out for the ruins where the gold was supposed to be. Along the way we made small talk. I told her about my adventures in the East Blue from before our paths crossed. Robin was quiet like always not reviling anything about herself while I told my stories.

"You as mysterious as ever Robin." I remarked "Here I am telling you my life story and you won't even tell me where you're from."

At the mention of home she tensed up so I made an attempt to recover "Not that mysterious is a bad thing. I actually find it very attractive."

"Is that so?" She said raising an eyebrow.

_She responding, it's a start. Time to step up my game._

"Yeah I actually find a lot of things about you attractive. Your personality, your intelligence, and your body. You are very appeling women Miss Nico Robin." I said dishing out a spree of compliments.

"You not to bad yourself." Was all she answered.

_Yes!_

I felt my face light up and decided it was time for me to make a more aggressive move.

"What's say in the next place we stop I take you out for dinner or something? You know like a date." I said with my finger crossed.

"No."

_Huh…WHAT!_

"Well this is awkward… Do you mind me asking why not? Is it because I'm younger than you."

"Actually I very much attracted to younger men." She paused "I'm just not looking for a relationship right now. Maybe sometime in the future."

_There's still hope!_

"Then I accept your challenge."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I will convince you to go on a date with me. I swear it."

* * *

**?'S POV**

"Well my Lord how many people do you think will be left?"

"In three hours exactly six people will be left standing."

* * *

**Rose's POV**

_Uhh what happened? Last thing I remember was seeing that giant python._

"You're up," I heard Luffy say.

I opened my eyes and saw that he was carrying me on his shoulder.

_This is so embarrassing._

I wriggled free of his grip and dropped to the ground. I composed myself and asked him what happened. He said we got separated from the others when the snake attacked.

_Great that means Zoro's probably by himself. He'll be lost without me._

Luffy started singing as we walked around trying to find our way to the gold. I heard a strange noise in the distance.

_Was that a goat?_

Luffy turned around and punched a man trying to attack me.

"Thanks' Luffy. I owe you one." I told the captain.

We walked a little farther when Luffy suddenly stopped again.

"You again!"

"I thought I told you to leave." I looked over and saw a man who looked very much like the Guerilla that attacked the Merry when we first got up here.

"We gonna take care of this guy Luffy?"

"You're asking for a fight girl?" The man yelled at me.

"Maybe I am! And my names not girl it's Rose! Come on let's dance!"

The man fired off a cannonball and I sliced it with one of my longer blades.

_Good thing his using small ammo I can just cut it._

"You know." I said throwing a knife at the man "It's polite to introduce yourself to you dance partner."

The man took another shot which I cut in two.

"I'm Wyper, Shandorian warrior." The man skated past another volley of my knives.

"Rose, Strawhat pirate."

It was getting bothersome to fight this guy alone with Luffy watching, I'm a lady he should be helping me.

"Luffy help me out here….Luffy?" I looked back and Luffy was missing.

I heard a rumble not too far off but put it out of my mind.

_I have to focus on taking out this winged weirdo._

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message any questions or concerns.**


	45. Chapter 45: Shandora

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"That's like the tenth time I've destroyed your cannonballs, just stop shooting!" I yelled at Wyper.

"If that won't work why don't I try this?" he said ejecting his dial and putting in a different one.

A slight breeze blew past my and the air began to smell.

"It smells like gas. What did you do!?" I yelled at the man.

"This is a breath dial filled with natural gas. If I combine it with a flame dial I get to wield the disintegrating power of the **Burn Bazooka!"**

_Oh boy. This is bad._

A huge beam of fire got shot towards me and I dove out of the way, barely avoiding the laser.

"Holy Crap! What the hell man!"

"Guess you don't like fire huh?" Wyper taunted coming from behind to kick at my head.

I ducked under the attack before jumping into the air **"Buzz-saw Slicer!"**

The attack hit his skates and had no effect.

_What are those things made out of, they blocked my attack._

I did a series of slashed at the man but his skates gave him so much maneuverability that he was able to dodge every one. Wyper came in with another jet fast kick and I put my foot up to try and block it **"Blade Heel!" **A dagger came out of my boot and blocked the metal of his skate.

"How many of those things are hidden on your body?" he asked

"More that you can count!" I said pushing him back.

He got ready to fire another laser and I ran at him.

_I have to stop that cannon_

"**Sickle Claw!"**

"**Burn Bazooka!" **

I slide under his bazooka and did an uppercut slash. He kicked my hand away and tried to stomp my face. I rolled away and came in for another slash but he blocked it with his skate.

We were in a stalemate; we sat there staring each other down "We're getting nowhere."

"What gave it away? Neither of us has even landed a blow."

We separated and jumped back "I have more important things to do than fight with you Blue-Sea dweller."

"Like what?" I asked

"I came here today to kill Eneru and take back my people's land." He explained

"You're going after Eneru?" I said intrigued.

"What's it matter to you." He said

"He tried to kill me and my friends; I'm a little pissed off."

"I see. Eneru has men all over the Upper Yard. It's unusual, he gave the priest free roam of the yard, something he never does. Something big is going to happen" Wyper explained.

"Do you know where I can find this guy, Eneru that is?"

"In God's shrine, that's where I'm headed."

_Sorry Nami but I need to get back at this guy. You guys will just have to wait._

"If you're going up to God's Shrine can I come with you?" I asked.

"I plan on going alone, but there is strength in numbers. Any enemy of Eneru is a friend of mine I suppose. But you wouldn't be able to keep up with me. I'm one these things." He gestured to his skates "and you're on normal boots."

I walked over to one of the goat men and salvaged his skates.

"I'll learn on the way." I said strapping them on to my feet "Give me the tutorial." I said

"You know how to skate?" I nodded my head "Then push in this pedal and then skate."

I did as he said and I glided forward, after a few seconds I had gotten the ropes.

"Which way to God's Shrine?" I said sliding next to him.

Wyper skated off and I followed him into the jungle.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

After wandering through the jungle for a while Robin and I emerged into some ruins.

"The outside has been swallowed up, I hope the inside I still intact." Robin remarked.

"This place peaked you interest quickly." I remarked.

*Meh*

A goat like man crashed down unto one of the ruined building crushing a corner.

"This path leads to God's Shrine. Turn back now!"

"Get down from there!" Robin yelled "Do you have any idea how valuable those buildings are."

"I suggest you do as the woman says." I told the man.

The man refused saying he had orders from Eneru to kill us.

"**Seis Fleur: Twist!" **

Robin cracked the man's neck and he fell to the floor in a heap.

_That was so cool!_

"You so amazing."

"That fool deserved it. He had no respect." She said looking around the city.

We came across a large slab in the center of the city. Robin examined it and said this place was home to a race called the Shandorians. She suggested we head to the center of the city to find a map of some kind to further explore the ruins.

_I heard that._

"I know you're there. Come out!" I yelled.

A large man in a toga waddled out "Aren't you cute." He said giving robin a creepy look.

_Look at this Fat slob, leering at Robin like that._

"**Whip Crush"** I slammed my whips into the man but the practically bounced off the large man.

"Haha that tickles **AXE!**" The man thrust his fist forward and my arm got cut as if a sword slashed it.

_Crap_

"Steve!" I saw Robin make some arms on the man but he was too big to wrap up quickly. He ran up and hit Robin just like he did to me.

The man went to belly flop on Robin. I ran forward and picked her up off the ground running away from the man slamming into the ground.

"Gotcha." I said putting the older woman down.

"Thank you."

I saw we had made it deeper into the ruins and there we're a ton of ancient tablets and texts around us.

_Great, now if he comes in here I'll have to protect this stuff to._

The man tried to body slam us again and Robin got up to protect the ruins **"Venite Fleur: Calendula"**

Robin's arms caught the man but she still got thrown back.

"Stop protecting this dead city. I Yama, commander of God's army will destroy it."

"Why do you seek to destroy our ancestor's history?" Robin asked the man.

"I don't care about the past."

"Fools always say that." I smirked.

"**Axe punch!"**

I dodged the punch and started backing up.

_I have to get this guy out of here before he destroys the whole city. I can't let Robin down._

I wrapped my whips around the man and attempted to lift him up a slam him into the ground. After a long struggle I managed to get him off his feet.

"RAAHH!"

_My back!_

Robin began rolling the man towards the nearby cliff. I followed the man as he approached the cliff.

"This is the end." Robin told him as he teetered on the edge.

"Wait please!" the large man begged

"It's to let to beg." I told him

I wrapped my whip around his lower back as Robin rolled him over the edge.

"**Clutch!"**

"**Whip Bungee!"**

Robin and I fell back to the center of the city. Robin said that the layout didn't fit the city at all.

"Maybe it got knocked around when the place got launched into the sky" I proposed.

"I suppose that may be a possibility." She said.

Robin took a walk around the city with me following her closely.

Finally she reviled her conclusion "If this is truly the golden city the layout is all wrong…Unless!" Robin ran off into one of the temples.

"Hey wait for me."

When I caught up to Robin she was on the floor cutting her way through the Island cloud with a small knife.

"Care to explain?" I asked trying to catch my breath.

"Just wait you'll see."

Robin dug a large hole downward until she reached the bottom and light began shining through.

"There it is." She peeled back the fluffy substance and hopped down the hole.

I jumped down after her and saw that there was another level to the ruins. I followed the archeologist until we made it to an alcove that had a view of the ruins.

"This is it." She remarked "The City of Gold, Shandora."

"Only one problem." I started "Where's the gold?"

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message any questions or concerns**


	46. Chapter 46: The Ordeal of Iron

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

I followed Wyper through the forest. Along the way I helped him cut down the soldiers from God's army. It was a lot easier to get around on these skates. I kept a look out but didn't see anyone else from the crew.

"See that." He pointed to a large beanstalk in the center of my view "That's Giant Jack. We need to get to the top."

"Eneru will be up there?" I asked.

"Should be."

We hopped on the stalk and skated towards the top.

"Why do you want Eneru so bad?" he asked.

"Because he tried to kill me. I try not to let people get away with that." I told him "My friends want to cut and run but I prefer to stay and get back at him. Thanks for letting me help you. We're not bad people I hope you understand that. We could care less about your land" We broke through the clouds "But I suppose getting the gold would be nice."

"Gold?"

"It's a rare mineral form our sea, very expensive. We heard that there was a city of gold up here so now we're looking for it." I told him.

"Well that city you're looking for might be where my people come from, and if that's the case I won't just let you steal from us."

"We'll hopefully we become great friends and you don't try and kill me." I said with a smile.

We came out into some ruins. In the center there was a man sting with a large dog.

*EEP* _That dog is oversized. _

"Ohm!"

"Wyper and one of the Blue-Sea dwellers never thought I see you working together." The priest said.

"Ever heard the phrase, the enemy of my enemy is my friend." I told the man.

"God's shrine is just beyond here." The man adjusted his glasses "I won't let you pass!"

"Going to God's shrine will gain you nothing." I looked up and saw Gan Fall riding on his bird

"Sky Knight!"

"What are you talking about Gan Fall?" Wyper yelled

"I just came from God's Shrine. It's tragic, everything is destroyed, and of course Eneru is nowhere to be seen."

The building nearby got turned into rubble as someone fell from the sky.

"Zoro!"

I ran over and pulled my boyfriend out of the rubble.

"Are you alright?"

"What the hell you damn bird!" he yelled to the sky, then he noticed me "Where the hell have you been?"

"Helping him stop Eneru, we can deal with the gold later. I won't let someone who tries to kill me go unpunished." I told the man.

"Revenge will get you nothing but suffering." He told me

"I don't think that's true. As long as you don't let it consume you it's fine to want revenge."

"That's a foolish point of view. Revenge will always consume you."

And then the snake from earlier burst through the clouds and added itself to out skirmish

_HOLY SHIT!_

Zoro got up and looked around as I hid behind him. "Looks like a lot of strong people have gathered here."

"That just makes it more fun." I told him

"If you intended to get in my way I'll eliminate you." Wyper told Ohm.

"Let's all be nice now." I told the Shandorian

"Ain't this the guy that attacked our ship, what are you doing so buddy-buddy with him?" Zoro asked.

"I offered to help him get to Eneru; he wants to win back his people's land. I thought he could use a hand going against God." I told the man.

"We'll I don't trust him you should keep your distance."

"You sound like my brother." I responded.

"He's usually right. I don't like this guy and I think you need to stay away from him." He said looking at me.

"Whatever we can have this argument later." I told him looking off.

"Where is Eneru?" Gan Fall spoke.

"I welcome you, to the Ordeal of Iron!"

We all stared each other down. It was mostly everyone verses Ohm but I wouldn't put it past Wyper to turn on me.

_We've only been friends for few hours but I hope I can count on him_

"Everyone sure has a lot to say." Zoro added.

"We only need to deal with the priest and the python. The rest can come down to fighting Eneru." I told him.

"Time to die!" Wyper shot the priest.

The snake got spooked by the bazooka and flailed around near Zoro and me. We moved out of the way. The dog came at us next, when Zoro and I went to stop his jaws he threw a punch at us.

"That thing can throw punches?!" Zoro said astonished.

"His name is Holy. I've trained him to fight like a world class boxer." Ohm explained.

Gan Fall came in and attacked Ohm while Zoro and I split up to avoid the boxing dog. The creature went after him; I came across Wyper trying to deal with the giant python.

"Watch yourself" He told me "there are traps everywhere."

I looked around and saw what looked like barbwire all over the place. Wyper jumped up and fired his bazooka at the head of the reptile but the creature was barley phased.

"My bazooka didn't even scratch it!" He said astonished.

_Well then my knives will be useless._

The snake threw itself towards me and I used the skates to avoid the beast. A ton more people came up the beanstalk, multiple members of God's army and three members of Wyper's militia. One more object came up through the clouds. It was Nami and a little girl riding on a Waver.

"Nami!"

"Aisa!"

_That must be the girl's name._

A group of goat people tried to attack them but Wyper and I held them off.

"Nami why are you up here?!" I asked.

Wyper pointed his bazooka at Nami "Aisa get away from her!"

"No it's okay Nami's with me!" I told pushing the gun down.

"Rose! Where are the others?"

Gan Fall flew past and picked up the Waver. The snake reared up and opened its mouth.

"MOVE!"

The snake clamped his jaws and ate my friend.

"NAMI!"

During our distraction Zoro came back around followed by the dog and the priest. Zoro stopped the priest and Wyper and I had to dodge the dog.

"Damn mutt." I mumbled

The sword Zoro was blocking changed shape and cut around his sword. Wyper and I crashed into a building trying to avoid the dog.

"If you assume those two aren't dead yet that leaves eleven people and two animals left in the upper ruins." Ohm said counting the remaining competitors.

_I hope the others are okay._

The dog ran around the outer edge of the ruins setting off a most of the pressure pads. The traps all triggered and formed a large dome of barbwire.

"This is the true trial of iron 'The white barb death match'!"

Zoro told them the cage was unnecessary as we had no intention of running away. Wyper picked up one of God's soldiers and threw him into the wire.

"I see." I said out loud "It's not trying to keep us in. It trying to make it harder to survive."

"Try not to get thrown into it." Wyper commented.

"There are eight men, one woman, and two animals remaining." Ohm said annoying who was left.

_Why was I counted separately? _

"WYPER!"

The man in question turned around and looked at a woman coming towards the cage.

"Laki!"

She tried to tell him something but he just screamed at her to leave. I looked closer and saw that there was a man behind her.

_Who's he?_

"Eneru!"

The woman shot at the man but the bullets just went right through him.

_It didn't even touch him. It's just like how Steve described the fight with Crocodile._

One of the goat men tried to attack the oblivious Wyper. I ran up and tackled the man pushing him away from Wyper. A bolt of lightning fell from the sky and charred the woman Eneru was behind. She fell to the ground, I wasn't even sure if she was still alive.

"Bow before God!"

I turned around to see the remaining members of God's army behind me.

_I can't believe I got caught._

"**AXE DIAL!"**

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

"AHHHH!"

I looked behind me and saw the Blue-Sea woman, Rose get assaulted by the members of God's Army.

_Dammit!_

I blew the men away from her as she fell to the ground in a heap. I went over and found her lying on the ground covered in blood and cuts from the axe dial.

"You bitch. Why did you protect me?!"

"Sorry. Your goal is much more important than mine. This is what my need for revenge got me. I'm glad you're still standing, I hope you can… free your homeland…"

That swordsman came over and had a pissed off look on his face "What did you do to her!"

"Nothing she did it to herself!"

The man slashed at me "Bullshit!"

"There are six men and two animals remaining."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We wandered around the ruins as Robin read the writing on the walls.

"Where's that Golden Bell Noland was talking about?" I asked her.

Robin ignored me and headed to the center of the town

When we got there she looked confused "the belfry is supposed to be at the center of the four alters but it isn't here."

"Why are there cart rails here?" I wondered out loud "Isn't this place kinda old for them."

"Who knows how advanced the people were. It's possible for them to have had carts."

Someone laughed "It's magnificent. Even after being blasted into the sky this place has retained its grandeur. The city of Shandora."

I got into a defensive stance "And you are?"

"I am God." The man told us.

_This must be Eneru._

"Unfortunately you're too late. The gold is long gone. I took it for myself. It suits me."

"Does that mean you took the Golden Bell as well?" Robin asked him.

The man looked confused "What bell?"

"Oh well than it mustn't have made it to the sky." Robin said.

"Wait! It is here. They say you could hear the ringing of a bell when this place was blasted into the sky. I supposed when the game ends in a few minutes I'll go and take a look." The man raised his hand to the sky "It appears a rat has gotten out of his cage."

A bolt of lightning erupted out of his arm and connected with the sky. The clouds above were destroyed and the ruins began to crumble.

"What did you do?!" Robin yelled over the noise.

"I just invited some of your friends to the party."

A huge stone landed near Robin and I. The stone was moved by someone underneath it.

"Swordsman!"

I looked over and saw Zoro was lifting the boulder off himself with one hand. I went over to help him and saw what was in his hand.

"Chopper!"

_Who the hell did this?_

"Where the hell are we?" Zoro asked.

"The city of gold, but there's no gold here." Robin explained.

"Zoro do you know where anyone else is." I asked him.

"Nami got eaten by that snake and Rose is in bad shape but I don't know where she is. Last time I saw here she was out cold up there." He said pointing up "I didn't see he when I fell down here."

_Crap!_

"She's right there." Robin pointed out.

I looked over and saw Rose over the shoulder of that man that had threated us after the Ordeal of Spheres. The sky darkened again as a bolt shocked the snake.

"Nami!"

"I'm right here."

"What the hell!" Zoro and I yelled.

She explained that she and Gan Fall had escaped but Luffy and some girl named Aisa were still trapped inside.

"That idiot."

The man with the bazooka walked past and placed Rose near Nami.

"What'd you do to my sister?" I said glaring at the man

"Sorry she hurt because of me." He explained "She tried to help me reclaim my home and got herself hurt. She said to make sure I got it back."

"I'm Steve; this is Zoro and Robin, and that's Nami." I said introducing the crew; I'd have to trust Rose's trust in this guy.

"My name's Wyper."

_It's nothing like the guy who attacked us the past few times._

"This is quite problematic" Eneru said "I predicted six people would be left but there are still seven people here."

_Me, Robin, Zoro, Gan Fall, The Guerilla, and himself? Or is he counting Nami._

"So who will be the last one to fall? Will you fight amongst yourselves or will I choose?"

"You wanna?" Zoro asked Robin and I.

"No thanks." Robin told him

"Me too." I said.

"No way." Wyper added

"I also refuse." Gan Fall said rounding out our group.

"The one who will fall is you!" We pointed at Eneru.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**I now Wyper comes off as a little OOC, but whatever.**


	47. Chapter 47: God's Wrath

Italics indicate thinking

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"You think you'll be eliminating me" Eneru let out a hearty laugh then abruptly stopped "Do you have any idea who you're talking to."

A gripped my whip tighter as we stared the so-called God down.

"The old man fighting for Skypiea, The warrior fighting for his homelands, and pirates from the Blue-sea who want nothing more than to steal gold. Even the country itself is full of sin."

"Enough nonsense!" Gan Fall yelled "Tell us what you want here."

"I simply wish to return to where I belong. To a place fit for a God, they call it the Fairy Vearth. This dismal piece of land is not worthy of me, this whole island defies nature. "

_Does he mean…_

"You wouldn't."

"I am God, I can do whatever I want, and I'll be sending you all back where you belong!"

"You want to destroy this place!" Gan Fall yelled "Do you think that highly of yourself Eneru. 'God' is nothing but a title used to refer to the ruler of Skypiea!"

"That was before I came along." Eneru gloated.

_This guy's insane. He really things he's surpassed humanity._

"This world doesn't need a God!"

"If you worried about your militia former God Gan Fall, you should know after they lost to my army I put them to work. This morning they finished their 'job'. As I said earlier the only people still standing on this island are the seven of us."

I looked over at Nami and the unconscious Rose and Chopper "Please be alright."

_I'm the captain; it's my job to protect them. I won't let this guy near them._

"I didn't want to do it" Eneru explained "but when I told them my plan they got a little…let's just say upset."

Gan Fall kept muttering to himself about how he was supposed to bring them home to their families.

"Oh yes, I suppose the families will want burials, too bad there isn't much to give them."

Gan Fall thrust forward with his lance.

"Gan Fall don't!" I tried to stop the man but I knew he wouldn't stop.

_This man isn't a God. He nothing more than a psychopath._

Eneru placed a finger on each side of Gan Fall's head and counted up and lightning gathered.

"**30 MILLION VOLT VARI!"**

Gan Fall fell to the ground. There was a huge hole burnt into his helmet.

_Holy Shit._

"A Devil Fruit!" Zoro pointed out.

"It's most likely the Rumble-Rumble Fruit." Robin said.

_Someone read the Devil Fruit encyclopedia._

"He's a Logia like Crocodile. He's Lightning." I said.

"Good now there are six survivors, just like I predicated. Come I shall now travel to the Fairy Vearth. And you'll all come with me!"

"What if we choose not to go?" Robin asked.

"Why stay, then you'd fall the abyss with everyone else I this country?"

"True you do possess the power to destroy this country but doing so would also destroy **that**."

"Oh you mean the Golden Bell. Judging from our earlier talk I already know where it is."

_Well there goes our only leverage._

"You really thought you could trick me? How deceptive. I hate deceptive women." In the blink of an eye Eneru's arm jolted out shot through Robin's forehead.

"ROBIN!"

I ran and grabbed Robin Before she hit the ground. I had made it in time but she was in bad shape and need help right away if she was going to make.

I turned around a shot Eneru a death glare "She's not yours to touch. She's mine."

"Yes I could tell."

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

I heard Nami scream for me to stop but I kept going.

_I need to test this. I need to see if we only have one hope._

I ran forward and swung at the man but my whips went right through his torso. But I was able to step on his toes with my boots.

_Just like I thought._

"You need to be taught a lesson about God."

The man grabbed my whips and wrapped them around his hands.

"Losing love and dying are similar aren't they?"

I felt the sting come through the whip cord and into my hands. My whole body felt like it was on fire. My heart felt like it'd explode from the pain.

"AHHHHH! GAAAHH!"

_Well I guess the two are similar._

* * *

**Nami's POV**

_Everyone's dying. Rose, Robin, Zoro, even Steve is on the ground. He's going to kill everyone._

"Why do you keep getting up Wyper? Why are you still fighting?"

That Wyper guy was barely breathing, he was covered in blood but he kept getting up.

"For my ancestors and the people who believed in me."

"What a ridiculous answer."

_Believed in you?_

"**EL THOR!"**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

_I don't think I died._

I tried to open my eyes but they just wouldn't answer.

_I hear someone._

I reached out and grabbed what I'm pretty sure was someone's ankle.

"Steve!"

_Luffy_

"Luffy listen I'm sorry, I couldn't protect everyone."

"Its fine I'm still here you don't have to do stuff like that alone."

"Eneru is a lightning man, understand."

"I get it, I gotta go." Luffy said putting my hand down.

"One last thing" I felt myself slipping away again "We owe that Bazooka guy…his names Wyper."

_Good luck…Rubber Boy._

* * *

I managed to open my eyes and saw that we were no longer in the ruins, now we were at the bottom of the beanstalk.

"How'd I get down here?"

"I moved all of you." I looked over and saw Robin was sitting not too far from me.

"Oh thanks."

"Thank you for catching me." She said out of nowhere.

"How'd you know?"

"I wasn't dead you know."

"Then I guess you heard my little exchange with Eneru." I said embarrassed

"Yes I did." She looked away from me.

_It keeps getting more awkward._

"Listen I didn't mean it like you were some kind of property or something. I just meant you're in my crew so I have to protect you."

Robin didn't answer she just nodded her head.

"STEVE! ROBIN!" We looked over and saw Luffy run past and throw a little girl and a bird at us "Watch these two."

"Luffy what the heel is that thing on your arm!" I asked looking at the golden ball stuck to him.

He ignored me and headed up to the top of the beanstalk.

The little girl told us that Nami was supposed to be on the ship but she couldn't hear her 'voice' up there.

"We're here!" We looked back and saw Nami and Usopp on the Waver.

"Where's Luffy?"

"He went up there to save you." Aisa told Nami.

"We're running out of time." Usopp told us "this place is going to be destroyed."

"I'll take the waver and get Luffy, the rest of you go back to the ship." Nami told us.

"No." I told her looking up the beanstalk "Nami you can go help Luffy but the rest of us will be waiting here."

"What are you talking about we have to go!" Usopp yelled.

"We won't be going anywhere. Luffy is going to fight Eneru. Weather we wanted to or not we will have to save the place. We owe him that much." I said pointing at Wyper "Rose told him to get his home back. Since he can't do it we'll have to do it for him. And the only one capable of stopping Eneru and freeing this place is Luffy."

"This is ridiculous we don't have point in dying for this place." Nami remarked.

"NAMI! Are you going to disobey my order?" The girl was taken aback by my tone "We will wait here for Luffy to stop Eneru. But you will go help him since he can't catch up with that thing on his arm. Besides now that Luffy knows that bell is up there he won't leave till he rings it."

"What are you talking about? the little girl asked.

"Luffy wants to ring that bell and tell our friend that the city of gold was up here not under our sea."

Nami still hadn't left to go help Luffy yet "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!"

The girl grabbed the Waver and sped off after Luffy. Lightning struck the ruins around us but I refused to go back to the ship.

"Fall back a little it's dangerous to be this close to the beanstalk, let's back up and wait.

_Get the job done Luffy, or we're all dead._

Wyper just stood there while the rest of us moved back. Aisa kept trying to get him to move back with us but he just stood there.

He ignored the girl and turned to me "You said something about a Golden Bell."

"It's probably somewhere near the top of the beanstalk."

A piece of the beanstalk fell from the sky and I grabbed Wyper and pulled him back.

"I'm so close the bell is just past there. I'm so close to fulfilling Calgura's wish."

The sky parted to reveal a huge ball of thunder descending towards the ground. It touched the nearby Skypiea and exploded. When it was gone nothing was left.

"We're gonna die!""

"Why won't you let us leave?"

"Because Luffy will win, we just have to wait for him to ring the bell like he said he would." I told them.

"You mean Luffy wants to ring the bell?" Usopp asked.

"Yes. And once he puts his mind to something there's no changing it. Nami can try and go behind my back all she wants and tell Luffy to leave but he won't go."

A leaf fell from the top of the stalk.

"It says to cut the beanstalk" Robin said looking at the large leaf "And makes it fall west."

The sky opened again and another ball of lightning began descending.

_This one is twice as big._

"We'll have to hurry." I told them.

Zoro threw Chopper and Rose to Usopp then he and I went to cut the stalk. Zoro cut a piece out of the stalk only to get shocked by lightning.

_It's too strong, it won't fall._

That huge snake ran up and slammed into the plant but even that wasn't enough, it only managed to tilt the stalk.

"I have to ring that bell. You stupid friend can't do it." Wyper said lumbering past me.

"400 years ago a man from my sea found the city of gold, but no one would believe him. So to this day his descendant risks his life everyday trying to find that city. 'If I can ring the bell he'll here it', that's what my 'stupid' friend thinks. He's going through all this just to deliver a message."

Wyper looked confused "What is this descendant's name."

"Montblanc Cricket."

"Then that explorer what was his name? Was it Noland?"

"Yes."

Wyper sprinted past me and pushed Usopp out of his way, he jumped up to the stalk and placed his hand against it/

"**REJECT!"**

The beanstalk exploded and began to tilt. I wrapped my whips around part of the stalk and pulled

"Come on, fall!"

_This damn thing better fall._

The stalk started tilting. I decided that it was a good time to get out of its way. I ran though the ruins past all the lightning. When I found Zoro Wyper wasn't far from him stand there looking at the stalk.

"Come on we gotta go."

"Shandora will never crumble before you Eneru."

I looked around and saw that only the clouds were being destroyed by the lightning no the ground itself

"The strength of this earth will never be destroyed."

Wyper took one last look to the top of the beanstalk.

"Now go Strawhat! Ring the bell!"

The clouds at the top of the stalk suddenly dissipated and the light shined through.

"GO! Come on Luffy!"

"Light it! Relight the fire of Shandora Strawhat!"

*BONG*

_I hear it! Nice job Luffy._

"Incredible." I whispered.

"Can you hear it Noland." Wyper said looking to the sky "I'm sorry it took so long, I hope this reaches your descendants."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns. **


	48. Chapter 48: Tainted Gold

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

_My head's killing me._

"She's awake!"

I opened my eyes and was surrounded by all my friends.

"Don't move I gotta patch you up first." Chopper said pushing me to the ground.

I saw my brother giving me a reassuring look. He walked over and gave me his usual smile.

"Glad you're gonna be okay. Your new friend was a big help."

I looked past him and saw Wyper was on the ground, he looked like he was in bad shape.

"Don't worry about me Chopper, go help him."

"But you're covered in cuts."

"Come on." Steve said "Go help the man, Doctor."

"Shut up. You think I like you dumb compliments." Chopper said going to help the man "You're right his arms practically shattered."

"Why'd you let Chopper help him?" Rose asked.

"Cause, he's a nice guy. We probably wouldn't have stopped Eneru without him." Steve explained.

"You beat Eneru?" I asked hoping someone took that bastard down.

"Well technically Luffy did."

"HEY!"

"Well there he is now." Steve said helping me walk over to Luffy and Nami.

They had raided the priest's storage on the way back and stolen most of the food so we'd have something to eat.

"Rose, you're okay!" Luffy said hugging me.

"Ow, Ow, Ow not so hard."

"Sorry."

"Jeez Luffy" Zoro said "Learn to be gentle."

"Your one to talk." I mumbled

"What was that?"

"You heard me you oaf! Always rushing in without thinking and doing stupid stuff."

"Says the woman who nearly got herself killed trying to help a guy she barely knows!"

"You two wanna do this somewhere else?" Nami said.

"Maybe we should." Zoro said

"Yeah maybe!" I answered as we both stormed off away from everyone else.

When we decided we were a sufficient distance from the others we resumed our argument.

"What's your problem?" Zoro said

"My problem what's your problem?!"

"Ever since you met that Wyper guy you've done nothing but argue with me." Zoro said.

"Wyper has nothing to do with this." I yelled "But at least he cared enough to help me when I was in danger!"

"Listen to yourself; he probably melted your brain with one of those dials."

"What. Stop Zoro." I said turning around "clearly there's some kind of disconnect in our relationship. You clearly feel inferior to Wyper."

"I thought you said this had nothing to do with him!"

_I can't do this._

"Zoro I think we should break up."

He stayed silent.

"It's obvious this isn't working out. Every time I so much as smile at another man you get all protective, I can't keep this up it seems like all we've done the past few days is argue. Something changed when we became honest with Steve about us." I bit my lip trying to hold in the tears "Maybe the secret is what made this romantic, I don't know but whatever it was it's gone now."

"Wait…"

"No…Whatever we had before is gone now… I'm going back to the others."

I made my way back to the others trying not to cry. When I got there they we still eating.

I walked up to Nami "Can you come here for a sec?"

She followed me away from the others in silence.

When we got pretty far away I pulled her into a hug and cried.

*Sob* "It's over, Zoro and me"

She rubbed my back "I'm so sorry… Maybe it's for the best."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Rose and Nami came back and sat down a half hour later, it was obvious she'd been crying. I could tell the second she came back without Zoro something was wrong.

_I'll deal with that shitstorm later._

"Let's have a party!" Luffy yelled "We need a lot of sticks for a big bonfire!"

_Maybe that'll lighten the mood._

"HeHeHe! Alright!"

We split into groups to collect the needed wood, I took Luffy and Rose with me.

"Luffy don't get lost ya hear!" I said as he ran off into the nearby forest, then I turned to Rose "you wanna talk about it."

"Not really." She said keeping her head down.

"Was it you or him?" I asked.

"Me"

"So when it comes to being a couple once I know about it you two don't even last a week."

"Real funny." She said as she cut one of the trees, she paused before going to the next "I have a request…"

"I was already going to." I told her.

* * *

The party got into full swing and quickly grew out of control. It seemed like all of Skypiea was at this thing. Everyone was dancing and singing. Rose even looked like she was starting to get her cheerfulness back.

"Aren't you going to join them?" Robin asked.

"Soon, I have some business to take care of first." I told her.

"What would that be?" She said taking a seat next to me.

"A secret." I told her with a smirk.

"How mysterious." She said in her usual sexy voice.

"Are you felling any better, getting shocked like that must have hurt?"

"You got it worse than me, I'll be alright."

I stood up and brushed my pants off "I gotta go but I'll talk to you later, Beautiful."

"I wish you wouldn't call me that…, Handsome"

"You know you love it!" I called without turning around.

* * *

It took a little bit but I managed to track down the man I was looking for. He was sitting with his friends; he was still covered in bandages.

"Wyper." I said sitting down without being asked "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better." He grumbled.

"Do you know why I'm here?"

"I have a hunch. Answer's no."

"I haven't even asked yet." I said raising an eyebrow.

"You were going to ask if I wanted to go with you and your crew."

"You're a smart man, so will you join us I could us someone who actually knows about weapons, an armorer of some kind."

He opened his mouth to answer but a woman cut him off "Go Wyper."

"Laki!"

"She right." A man with a Mohawk added "You always said you wanted to see where we really come from you just wouldn't go because of the fighting, this is the perfect chance the war is over.."

"You two." He said with a stern look.

"Go with them" "You know you want to." Two other men added.

He looked shocked that all these people wanted him to go with us.

Aisa walked up next "Please go Wyper you'll have so much fun, you'll regret it forever if you don't go."

"You all realize if I go down there, I might not every be able to get back up." He said looking at them stern.

They all laughed "Knowing you, you'd find a way."

He just shook his head and groaned, and then he raised his head "Fine, I'll go with you."

I smiled and slapped his shoulder "HeHeHe! We leave in the morning. I suggest you pack those dials, you won't find them in the Blue-sea."

* * *

The party toned down and everyone fell asleep. I was awoken when Luffy started shaking me.

"What the hell Luffy, it's late."

"I forgot to tell you something."

"Can't this wait till morning?"

"I know where the gold is. So let's wake the others and steal it."

…_Luffy…found….Gold…_

"WHERE IS IT?!"

Unfortunately my yelling woke pretty much everybody.

"What are you screaming about?" Nami said with a dirty look.

Luffy pulled everyone into a huddle and whispered that we were going into the snake tomorrow in order to steal the gold.

"Tomorrow is the day, we leave with no regrets." I said

Before we broke the huddle Robin asked if I had taken care of my 'businesses

"Oh that. Well everybody I got a big surprise for you tomorrow."

* * *

We got up extremely early the next morning to get our plan under way. Luffy took Nami, Sanji and Chopper into the snake to get the treasure. Robin and I were going to join them but we heard the Shandorians had found the Golden Bell and she insisted on taking a look and I offered to accompany her. When we got to where the bell supposedly was, a large group of men were pulling the bell off the beanstalk and onto stable ground.

"One more pull!"

Robin quickly picked up her pace when she saw that there was writing on the bell. She walked up and recited what was written there.

"Can that woman really read the ancient language?" the chief asked me.

"I've never seen her fail." I said with a big smile, I turned to Robin "Did you find what you wanted?"

"Just more dead ends and useless weapons." She said looking more angry than upset.

"Wait there's something written on the side."

Robin gasped and read the passage aloud "I followed the text to the end. Gol D. Roger."

"You're saying Roger was up here!" I yelled.

_I wonder if dad and mom came up here then._

"There was once a man who visited this place, he was a pirate from the Blue-sea, and I believe his name was Roger." Gan Fall told us.

"Was there a boy with red hair like mine, or a woman who could control plants with him?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure it was twenty years ago. But I think I remember someone with hair like yours."

I couldn't hold back my smile and I started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Robin asked.

"Nothing" I took a few breaths to calm myself down.

Robin explained to the chief that the Poneglyph had fulfilled its purpose. It had been read and moved on to the end of the Grande Line.

"So does that mean we don't have to fight anymore?" This must have meant a lot to the chief because he wasn't just crying; he was weeping "Thank you so much, I can't give you the bell but how about you take the broken pillar as a gift."

"Really, sure!" I said.

"Boy." Gan Fall said calling me over "The boy with the strawhat, he reminds me of Roger, are they related?"

"I don't know, but his name is Monkey D. Luffy."

"So they have the same initial."

I went to walk off with Robin and the people of the sky were going to move the golden pillar for us. Along the way I ran into Wyper.

"You ready to go."

"As ready as I can be, since the fighting will stop now, I have nothing holding me here."

"Then let's go."

When we got back Luffy and the others we're still pretty far off, they told Robin and I to hurry it up. They had the gold from the snake in sacks on the backs of the men.

"COME ON LET"S GO!" Luffy yelled.

"Seems like they don't want it." Robin said as we started picking up our speed and leaving the people carrying the pillar behind.

"Don't worry that this wouldn't have fit on our ship anyway!"

Wyper wasn't keeping up with us "You certainly have some strange friends, refusing the gold like that."

"Ehh we already got a bunch from the snake." I told him

"You stole from my people!"

"Look at the size of the thing they have left!"

When we caught up to the other Usopp started screaming.

"AHHH! That guerilla is chasing us."

"Relax Usopp. Wyper's gonna be coming with us. We'll need someone who actually knows how to use those dials. And he can help repair the Waver if it breaks." I said with a smile.

"HUH?"

"That's alright isn't it Luffy. If Wyper is in charge of weapons."

"Sure!"

"I'll try not to blow any of you up." Wyper opened up his bag "Combine these with the ones Long-nose has and we'll be set."

"Well then let's get back to where we belong, the Blue-sea!"

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	49. Chapter 49: Back Home

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We got back to the Merry and followed Conis and her Father so we could get back to our sea. Everyone had ideas about what they wanted to buy with the gold. Usopp wanted cannons, Chopper wanted books, and Luffy wanted to by a statue.

"None of you will be spending my money on trash." Nami told them

"What do you mean your money?" I said.

"If anything it's my money." Wyper told her "It belonged to my ancestors after all."

"Everyone we're almost there" Conis yelled as she pointed towards a large gate "This is Cloud End."

Luffy was upset we had to leave but when I told him that we had to get back down if he wanted to become King of the Pirates he quickly changed his tune. A few of Wyper's friends had come to see him off as well, the little girl and the woman.

"You better make it back!" Aisa yelled.

"You think I'd die that easy!"

"Good luck!" Laki added.

"This is as far as we can take you." Conis explained.

"Put your sail away." Pagaya instructed and we followed suit.

Nami told us the Log was set to the next island so nothing was holding us back. Conis told us to hold on as the fall was coming.

"Did she say fall?" Chopper asked.

"Did you not know?" Wyper told us "They call this Cloud End for a reason." We drove over the edge and began falling towards the Blue-sea "It's were the cloud 'ends', did you people think it was just a smooth path to the bottom?"

"Good luck!" "You better come back someday!"

We mostly screamed our lungs off as we plummeted towards our inevitable deaths. An octopus jumped out of the cloud as we fell past.

"Holy crap it's a giant octopus!" Rose yelled falling flat on her face.

The monster latched onto the ship and filled with air. It turned into a balloon and we began to gently float instead of freefall. On the way down we heard the Golden Bell ring.

_It sounds perfect._

I looked over at Wyper and he looked sad "Don't tell me you changed your mind."

"No I'm just…That bell." He turned and looked at the others "This is a sign that they want us all to come back again someday."

* * *

Nami said it would take us a while to float down at the speed we were going. I wandered around the ship to make sure everyone was getting along. Rose was keeping her distance from Zoro; she was throwing darts in the kitchen while Sanji made lunch. Wyper and Usopp were rummaging through their bags talking about dials. Wyper appeared to be giving Usopp an in-depth course on the objects. Luffy as usual was sitting on the figurehead and Zoro was training on the back half. I found Robin off reading alone like usual.

"Hey." I said taking a seat in the chair next to her.

"Hello. How are you?" she asked.

"I'm alright, I'm gonna miss it up here it was interesting." I told her.

"Yes, quite fascinating."

"It was a cool place, great place to hide from the Marines to." I laughed but strangely Robin stayed quite "you feeling alright?"

"Hmmm…Oh yes I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"Okay you just seemed distracted was all?"

There was a sharp popping noise and we suddenly pick up speed. The octopus shrank and the ship started plummeting to towards the water.

"That's not good." Robin observed.

Everyone started screaming and running around hysterically. The ship slammed into the water and everyone got thrown around. Robin slammed into me and we both got thrown to the ground. When I looked up she was on top of me in a very awkward position.

"Robin you alright, would you mind getting off me." I said

*Pant* Robin just sat there panting "Can't move."

I looked and saw that she was soaked; all the water that had crashed into the ship had drenched her, Luffy and Chopper, draining the life from them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sanji yelled

"This isn't what it looks like." I tried to explain.

"It sure looks like you violating Robin to me!" he yelled.

"What are you doing to my brother?" Rose said "Trying to take advantage of him like that"

"She's just tired!" I yelled "Look!" I pointed out the half asleep Chopper on Zoro's head and Luffy who Wyper was attempting to help off the ground.

"Still looks like you two are doing dirty things to me." Rose and Sanji mumbled.

I picked Robin up and carried her inside the kitchen so she could dry off in peace. I slammed the door behind me, but robin at the table and went to the coffee machine.

_Maybe this can wake her up a little faster. _

I made two cups, one for me and one for her and placed them on the table. Robin perked up a little and started to drink the coffee and wake up.

"Thank, it's delicious." She said.

"No problem." I told her with a smile "Please tell me you know that was an accident, Right?"

"Yes, if anything I'm to one who caused it."

"Alright, Sanji seemed to think I was taking advantage of you. Rose thought you were doing the same to me." I said shanking my head chuckling.

"No I wasn't trying to do that." She said looking away finishing her coffee "I should get out of these wet clothes"

"See ya."

I took the cups to the sink to wash them out when Wyper came in and threw a bunch of dials in his bag. He explained that while the Waver and his skates still worked on the water the dials that make clouds didn't work down here.

"To bad." I told him

"Yeah, you should probably get out there that woman with the red hair, what's her name? Nami, she's adding up the gold."

When I got back out to the deck everyone was gathered around Nami as she moved the Gold around counting.

"First my 80%"

"NOPE!" we all yelled.

"I was kidding."

When Nami was done we had to decide what to spend the money on. Luffy insisted on a statue and Chopper wanted more books. Zoro just wanted booze and Sanji wanted a fridge.

"May I make a suggestion?" Wyper said we turned to the man "I'm not a professional but this ship looks like it could use some help, what about using the money to get it repaired?"

"Fix the Merry?" Luffy wondered out loud.

"He's right, Usopp does what he can but he's not a professional." I added.

"This ship hasn't had any significant repairs since we got it back in my village." Usopp added.

"I've decided." Luffy spoke up "Our next crewmember will be a shipwright. We need someone to keep Merry in good shape, she's our home."

_Where did that come from?_

"Oh and we need a musician to."

_Back to normal._

A rumble was heard next to the ship and when we looked there was a pack of sea monkeys next to the ship.

"It's the sea monkeys. Run!" Rose yelled as she shivered behind the cabin door.

We grabbed the paddles and rowed away because there was no wind. Along the way we passed by a ship with no sails or flags and crew who looked completely lost.

"Don't worry about that we gotta save ourselves first." I told them

* * *

Eventually things calmed down and Robin spotted an island off in the distance. It was foggy so we sent Chopper to the front of the ship to be the lookout. When we got to the island it was just a big empty plain, no sign of people only trees and grass. Luffy ran off with Usopp, Chopper, and Rose, leaving the rest of us on the ship.

"They ran off without knowing anything about this place." Nami said all annoyed.

"Just leave them be Nami." I said "Let's just get the ship anchored and secure and we can go find them."

While we were getting the ship ready two giant claws shot past and anchored into the ground around our ship preventing any potential escape.

"What the hell!"

We got onto land to see the problem and found a giant ship blocking our escape.

"Who are you?" Zoro asked them.

"You looking for a fight?" Sanji said.

"Should I sink them" Wyper said pointing his bazooka at them.

"You wouldn't even scratch something that big. Who are you? Get out here an answer me!" I yelled.

"We are the Foxy Pirates, just relax our duel shall begin shortly." Someone from the ship said.

_What the hell do they want?_

* * *

**Rose's POV**

That old man offered us some disgusting cheese and then got a case of food poisoning. After that he explained that this island we were on was really a group of multiple islands with a high tide cycle. Apparently this guy had gotten left behind and now was going to try and catch up to his family during the next few years. Also turns out that horse we found earlier was his. The old man took the oversized thing out for a ride while the rest of us took a seat and watch.

"She's quite graceful for having such an odd body." I said.

*_Click_* _someone's there_

I jumped up and threw a knife into a nearby bush but I was too slow, the horse got shot because I wasn't fast enough.

"The horse!" Chopper and Usopp ran off to help the man and the animal and Luffy and I tried to find

"You heard it right?" Luffy asked as we stood back to back.

"Yeah it came from over there." I said pointing to the bush.

A group of three people came out, one with a weird head and funny nose, a girl with a pointy nose and a big fat guy.

"That horse is mine don't touch it." The funny nosed guy said.

"Who the hell are you?" Luffy yelled.

"I'm the great Foxy, and I always get what's mine."

"Get'em Luffy." I yelled as he ran forward.

"Hold it Strawhat!"

"He knows my name." Luffy said surprised.

"Of course I always do my homework" the man said as his female companion read off the list of our crew bounties.

"Despite only having nine members" _We have ten, which means this stuff dated _"you have a combined bounty of 250 million, that's quite impressive."

"That's why we challenge you to a Davy Back Fight!"

"If you want I fight I'll gladly take you on!" Luffy told him.

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**Next is chapter 50 so maybe I'll skip updating tomorrow and do an extra big update this weekend, maybe this whole arc in one chapter.**


	50. Chapter 50 Special : Davy Back Arc

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

**Note: Since this is chapter 50 almost all of the Davy Back Arc is in this chapter.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"Yeah our captains challenging your friend to a game right now, the game will start when both captains agree"

_A Davy Back Fight. I've heard about these._

"In this game you offer up your friends and your pride. This is a dangerous game." I said.

"This is ridiculous we'll never play this game! Steve would never accept this." Nami yelled.

"We may not have a choice." I told her "They knew I'd say no, that's why they challenged Luffy. Since the captain has to accept Luffy or I can start the game."

"So what we can just leave if he accepts." Wyper said

"If he accepts we won't be able to back out. If we run we'd become a laughingstock." Sanji explained.

"I'd rather drop dead." I told him.

"Same here." Zoro added.

"Men." I heard Robin mumble "always so stubborn."

"Then we have to stop Luffy before he accepts." Nami said.

A gun shot rang out in the distance "You're too late." I told her

_I hope you know what you're doing Luffy._

Our new opponents stormed off their ship and started setting up from the game. These guys were treating it more like a festival then a competition. There were food carts and tee-shirt stands everywhere. We found Luffy and his group wandering around.

Luffy had a slip of paper in his hand; I went and took it from him "Roster for events."

"Hey give that back!"

"I'm filling this out got it." I said looking down at him.

"Fine."

I sat down to start filling out the sheet. Each person could only compete once and we needed seven people overall, so a three of us would be sitting out.

_I can't afford to mess this up._

"Having some trouble?" Robin asked.

"Nah just making sure I don't make a mistake, can't afford a screw-up."

"May I see" She said leaning over the list.

"Sure. The first game is some kind of race. You, Usopp and Nami are competing. The second is a sport so I put Zoro, Sanji, and Wyper; I just hope they can work together. And the final is a one on one fight between captains so Luffy will compete there. Which means Rose, Chopper and I will be sitting out."

"If it's decided I'll turn it in." Robin said taking the paper from me.

"Thanks."

Robin turned in the list and the contest got underway.

* * *

The first event was a boat race, only Usopp and the girls had to build the boat out of barrels. Usopp put together a decent boat despite his lack of skill. The race itself was simple they just had to make it around the island before their opponent, the woman with the long nose, and a fishman.

"Just so you know any weapons are legal!" the announcer said.

_Are they._

"Don't lose!"

"We're counting on you; it'll be your fault if we lose one of the girls Usopp."

"HEY!"

This was it; if we lost here we'd be on the back foot and in a dangerous position. The gun went off and Usopp paddled as far as he could from shore. As soon as the race started they were being shot at from the shore.

_Real nice. If they can get in the way so can we._

I looked up and saw a huge boulder hurdling towards our friends.

"Wyper!"

The Shandorian fired his bazooka and blew the rock away preventing our team's ship from getting destroyed.

"If you plan on interfering, allow me to play as well." I cracked a vicious smile and pulled out my whip "This game might hurt."

Sanji gave me a hand as we beat the snot out of the people shooting at our friends.

_Try and kill Robin, Huh! _

When I looked back the team had lost part of the boat but was still in the race. Robin took out the fishman on the Foxy pirate's boat with her usual technique.

"That idiot he's gonna lose an arm like that!" Wyper yelled.

I saw Usopp put the impact dial in the water and press the apex of the shell. The little boat blasted past the opponents and took the lead.

"Well that was impressive." Rose commented.

"Yeah he's lucky the charge was low. Had that been a jet dial or a high impact he might have torn his arm out of the socket." Wyper said "He should be more careful."

Thanks to that shark pulling their boat the other guys took the lead. Luckily I made the right decisions putting Robin on the team since she was able to grab the boat and tow ours forward. They came up to some coral reef and I noticed Foxy was riding on top of some guy catching up to where they were.

_What's he doing?_

I looked around and saw everyone else but Wyper and Rose had wandered off distracted by the many attractions in this theme park of an island.

"Something's wrong." Rose observed.

"Yeah he's way to close to the race and they all got distracted at the same time, doesn't make any sense." I said "Relax and watch worse case you shot at them got it." I said turning to Wyper who nodded.

Nami sailed them though the current despite the smoke that had appeared. Foxy tried a bunch of really cheap trick, fake sings, pretending to be a dying old woman and even a fake goalpost. Nami of course fell for none of them and kept moving forward.

_Don't stop until you know it's over._

Somehow Foxy's own men fell for his dumb fake goal trick. Since they had fallen behind Nami and Usopp sent up an obstacle for them farther up. They knocked over a bunch of bamboo and tripped up the fish man. The woman somehow shot a barrage of roses at them but Rose threw her knives at them knocking them out of the air.

"You call those ugly things flowers."

"You came close but just like your rubber friend…out boss has a Devil Fruit power."

_What!_

"Wyper! Shoot him!"

"**Burn Bazooka!"**

Unfortunately Wyper was too late, or should I say to slow. Foxy shot a beam out of his fingers and our boat came to a dead stop. They got past, and lost.

I dropped to my knees "This isn't real."

"Anything hit by that beam slows to a crawl." One of the men explained "It'll retain its energy but the speed is drastically reduced."

We all dragged ourselves back to the center of the park to wallow in defeat. Someone was going to be taken but I wasn't sure who.

"Fine you won takes someone so we can get it over with and win the next game." I told him.

Foxy took to the stage and began to make his choice "I want you! The doctor Tony Tony Chopper!"

_NO!_

"Chopper!"

Chopper tried to break free as he got dragged over there but it was no use. He was going weather he wanted to or not. Watching him, scream and crying, I felt like a failure. I couldn't protect Chopper from getting taken, what kind of captain was I? Nothing but a weak failure.

_Dad never would have let this happen. I'm so pathetic._

"They took him because he's a rare animal." Sanji pointed out.

"I'm sorry Chopper. It all my fault!" Usopp told him.

"Hopefully they aren't collectors." Robin deadpanned.

"Really! Now's not the time!" I yelled "Take this seriously!"

For once Robin showed some emotion and looked a little surprised by my outburst.

_What the hell's wrong with me, I'm taking my frustrations out on her._

"Sorry." I said.

"Everyone! I only left because Luffy asked me. I don't wanna go with these people!" the look on Chopper's face tore my heart out.

"SHUT UP CHOPPER!" Zoro said slamming his bottle onto to the ground "You're embarrassing yourself. You chose this life. We lost and this is the consequence. There is no place for tears as a pirate. So sit there quietly and watch the game."

Chopper wiped off his face and sucked it up "Okay!"

Zoro, Sanji and Wyper went to compete in the next event and so we could win back our friend.

_Don't lose. If you do someone will be lost forever._

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

It was me, the swordsman and the cook against three men. Their shortest guy was at least twice my size.

_This is gonna suck._

We dubbed the chef as the ball and got ready to fight, two huge men and a half giant, half fishman. Not gonna lie I was struggling not to laugh at how dumb Sanji looked with that ball on his.

"Get moving ball." Zoro told him.

"Screw you I don't wanna be the ball!"

"To bad get moving." I told him.

"Who asked you, you be the ball. You're the new guy this should be your job."

"Shut it Eyebrows!" I yelled.

"Both of you can be the ball for all I care."

"Quiet, Moss head!"

The three of us got into an argument over who should be the ball.

"Wyper wears it since he's the newest." Sanji yelled.

"Zoro should wear it to cover the stupid hair!" I countered.

"The cook should wear it to look less stupid." Zoro added.

Nami told Sanji that he looked good in the silly hat causing him to quickly change his tune.

"Like I was saying I'll be the ball!"

"It's like a crown for the prince of idiots." Zoro joked.

"Yep, he'll be right at home." I told him.

We got into another fight over this stupid game.

"Can you boys focus please?!" Rose yelled.

"Yes Ma'am!"

_We're all suckers to that girl._

Sanji took up his position on the other side of the field and we finally got the game underway. The game was simple the first person to knock their opponents ball-man into the goal would be the winner. As soon as the starting bell rang Sanji jumped the guy trying to tackle him and went to kick the fish man. The skin was apparently too slimy for him to run on as he got swatted back towards our goal.

"Idiot!"

"If you fall in I'll slice you in half myself."

We went to try and stop that stupid chef from getting knocked it the goal and losing us the game as soon as it started. They threw the swordsman and I to the ground and grabbed the cook it midair. They threw him at the goal and Zoro and I had no way to block it.

"I'm borrowing you." Zoro said lifting the man who tackled us off the ground.

He threw the man to try and free Sanji who wiggled his way free and kicked the man trying to dunk him, insisting he didn't need our help. The two men collided midair and both got knocked out leaving the three of us and the ball.

"Can we finish this?" I asked gesturing to my hand which was still wrapped up in bandages from the fight against Eneru "There's an impact dial under here just make sure I get close."

"DON"T TELL US WHAT TO DO!" they screamed.

"Well someone has to give you two some semblance of direction."

"Guys focus! Score so we can get Chopper back!"

"FINE!" we all yelled at the woman.

I dashed forward "I need a boost!"

I chef stuck his leg our and kicked me up towards the fish man. I braced my hand and put it up to the monster's face.

"**Impact!"**

The blast blew the fishman back and knocked his dumb hat into the goal winning us the game.

"It's done. Told you two morons I could get it done."

The three of us got into another argument over how I was able to do something they couldn't.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Those three spent the next ten minutes arguing with each other over who was superior. In the whole scheme of things all that mattered was that we had won back Chopper. Nami tried to get us to take someone from their side but Chopper was our only choice.

"Thank you! I knew you'd get me back!"

"Okay Luffy you're the last one. If you lose there's no getting the person we lose back. This is serious so no screwing around…got it?" I said having pulled Luffy aside.

"Yeah gotta be serious."

Good I sent him off go fight Foxy in the final round. The field chosen by 'random chance' happened to be the Foxy pirate's ship. I had long since given up on any semblance of rules in this competition so I just let it go without a fight. I roped Usopp into being Luffy coach in this game. I had no doubts in Luffy's ability to win so anyone could have coached him.

"Let's go get some seats before they all fill up." Chopper suggested.

"Good idea." Rose said going off to find some seats with the reindeer.

As we got close to the seats the sky grew dark and there was a big production to introduce Foxy and Luffy. Looking back it was foolish to let Usopp help Luffy because for some reason he came out with a big afro.

"YEAH!" Sanji, Rose, and Chopper were super into the new look.

Nami and I not so much.

"What are you doing?!"

Robin took the open seat next to mine "I think he looks fine."

"Not you too." I said downtrodden.

The bleachers we were on rose up to be level with the ship. The bell rang and the fight got underway. Luffy threw a punch but his arm got shot by that beam and slowed to turtle like speed.

"You have to be more careful, the more you stretch he more surface his beam can hit!" I yelled hoping he heard my advice.

Luffy tried to dodge but his whole body got slowed down in the air. Foxy jumped on him and delivered a series of quick precise jabs. As soon as the time ran out and Luffy broke free of the beams effects the force of the punches hit him all at once. The resulting knockback almost threw Luffy off the boat but he managed to keep himself in the game. Luffy tried to combat Foxy's tricks but nearly got himself killed by a ton of slowed down projectiles.

"Focus you idiot!"

Luffy got nearly got himself killed when Foxy shot some bombs at him. Fortunately he was able to dodge the explosion and avoid the pain that came with it. Foxy ended up doing more damage to himself with the attack. That provided Luffy an opportunity to land a few hits himself. Foxy pulled a lever and Luffy fell into the bowels of the ship.

"Well this is great I can't see anything, hope he doesn't get hurt." Rose mumbled.

About ten minutes later there was an explosion and when the smoke cleared Luffy was on the ground and Foxy was looking victorious.

"Get up you idiot!" I yelled looking at Luffy's burned body.

"Look." Luffy pulled himself off the floor and got back into his fighting stance.

Luffy got knocked down again and again but he kept getting up. No matter how hard Foxy hit him he got up.

"If it's to protect my friends, I'll fight you even if it kills me!"

_Luffy._

Luffy got hit by the beam and Foxy hopped on a glider which was connected to a slowed cannonball.

"Luffy he hit you before the glider so the second you can move run!" I yelled.

Despite running Luffy still got hit by a punch. The glider crashed into Luffy and exploded. Despite his wounds Luffy stood up. Foxy and Luffy got in a battle with their mass punching attacks. Foxy went to slow Luffy with his beam but Luffy reached into his fake hair and pulled out a glass shard and bounced the beam back at him. Luffy swung his fist around and slammed it into Foxy's face.

"**Gum-Gum Flail!"**

"It's over." Wyper smirked.

"8 seconds…" Zoro said.

"7…6…5…4…3…2…1…"

"Times up." I whispered.

Foxy got sent flying and crashed into the water below, ending this stupid game. The bell rang signifying Luffy's victory.

* * *

We took Luffy back to shore and Chopper fixed him up. He had long since fallen asleep from exhaustion.

After a while Luffy woke up "What happened, did I win!" He said all jumpy

"Relax you won." Zoro told him.

"Good job Luffy."

They came over and asked Luffy who he wanted to take since he had won the contest.

"I'll take your flag."

Luffy went over and painted another one of his crude marks on their sail so that they'd still be able to leave. Foxy and his crew hopped on their boat and sail off freeing our ship from the blockade. Luffy wanted to take the flag to some old man he had met on the island.

"So you accepted this fight just to make this old guy feel better?" I asked "Wait you would've accepted regardless."

The old man went inside after Luffy gave him the flag, but when he went inside he bumped into someone.

_I thought he said he was the only one on this island._

I really tall guy, taller than me, walked out of the house with a blanket and a sleep visor. I heard a thud and looked behind me and saw Robin cowering on the ground.

_Who the hell is this guy? If he terrifies Robin so easily he mustn't be a nice guy._

"Robin what's wrong?"

"Well you've sure grow, Nico Robin." The man said.

She just sat there in fear, an emotion I had never seen from her.

"Robin, do you know this guy?" I asked staring the man down.

"Relax I'm not here to hurt you, I've got no orders I'm just out for a walk." He said.

_Orders?_

"Who do you work for?" Zoro asked.

"He's with the marines" Robin finally spoke up "He's an Admiral from Headquarters."

"ADMIRAL!"

"There are only three." Rose said "Kizaru, Aokiji, and Akainu. I remember Smoker talking about them but I don't know which is which."

"I'm Aokiji. No need to get hostile everybody I told you I'm just out for a walk. I'm not here to…you know…Uhh…whatever." The man tried to explain

"You're sure this guys an admiral Robin?" Usopp asked her.

"He must be Robin wouldn't make this up." I told him.

"I'm just here to confirm the location of Nico Robin." Aokiji said lying down on the ground "They just need to recalculate the bounty for your group. The original 250 million plus 79 is…Ehh I don't feel like doing math right now…let's just call it a lot."

I saw the others trying to hold Luffy back from doing something stupid, which meant I was in charge.

"If you don't mind go take your walk someplace else." I told the man.

"Alright but one quick thing." He told the old man to pack his things and get ready to go.

"He can't just run faster it's not possible. He has to wait to catch up." Usopp explained.

"No with his help, they'd be able to catch up." Robin explained.

_What's with this guy?_

We followed the old man and the marine to the edge of the island. Luffy asked Aokiji if he planned to pull the man across the river but he said it wasn't possible. He went and put his hand next to the water. When he did a huge Sea King surfaced, and it looked hungry.

"**Ice Age."**

Just like that the Sea King and all the water for as far as the eye could see had frozen solid. We all quickly came to the conclusion he had a Devil Fruit.

"It's the Logia class fruit, the Ice-Ice Fruit." Robin explained.

"Logia that must mean he's like Eneru." Wyper said.

The old man gave us his thanks and started to make his way across the ice. As the others said goodbye to the old man, Aokiji just sat there scratching his head in thought.

"Hmmmm…how should I put this? Monkey D. Luffy you're a lot like your Grandfather. And you" he pointed at me "are a lot like your dad."

_He knows Luffy's Grandpa!_

"You met my parents?" I asked.

"Yeah a long time ago…I only came here for Robin but maybe I should just kill you and Luffy now. There is no doubt in my mind as time passes you will become a major threat. You are especially dangerous now that Nico Robin has joined you."

"So you really did come here for Robin." I said pulling out a whip and cracking it "I'll cave in your skull!"

"Bounties aren't just a reflection of combat abilities; they also show how dangerous you are to the government. You've always had a high bounty Nico Robin, ever since you were just a child. You've stayed alive by finding partners or groups to work with only to cut ties and betray them, are these your new tools Robin?"

"Shut up, what the hell did Robin ever do to you?" I asked.

"Nothing, she escaped after I arrested her. Just some food for thought, every group Nico Robin has ever associated with, has been utterly annihilated. She is always the only survivor, why is that?"

"What the hell do you know?" I yelled "what she did before doesn't matter!"

"I see you got your hooks into that one." He observed.

"If you want to arrest me just do it!" Robin yelled as hands appeared all over the admiral's body **"Treinta Fleur: Clutch!"**

The man shattered into chunks of ice as the arms contracted. Seconds later they reformed into Aokiji, he was immune to attacks since he was a Logia type. He picked up some grass and blew it into a blade of ice.

"I didn't plan on killing you but…" He went to swing the sword but Rose and Zoro blocked it.

Sanji and Wyper went to attack the man.

"Stop you can't hurt him!"

The managed to get the sword out of the man's hands and Luffy ran in next and managed to punch the guy in the stomach but he looked unimpressed. The five of them stood there in his grip and parts of their bodies froze up upon contact.

_Why can't I move, it's like I'm frozen in fear._

He threw the five aside and walked towards Robin.

"Get away from there!" I was way too late, she was already frozen solid.

_No._

"ROBIN! I"LL KILL YOU!"

"Relax boy, she's still alive. If you thaw her right she'll be just fine." He clenched his fist "but she's fragile so anything to sudden might break her!"

I ran forward and grabbed the frozen statue that was Robin and avoided the punch "Just in time."

He went to stomp out his problem but Usopp ran up and grabbed Robin from me.

"Chopper, Usopp get back to the ship and thaw Robin." They did as they were told and ran off with Nami to try and save her.

Everyone else got up and wanted to fight the admiral.

_I'm ending this._

"WAIT!" I yelled "Luffy you're going to take the others and go back to the ship. I'll fight him alone. Let's settle this, man to man."

"Fine by me but be warned, this will be a fight to the death."

They surprisingly did what I told them and ran off towards the ship, as soon as they were out of sight I made the first move.

"**Whip Crush!"**

Just like he had with Robin, he shattered and reformed. The air around me froze and cut at my skin.

"**Whip Twister." **I tried throwing the man but he crawled around the whips and froze my hand.

"Damn it."

_I knew he was strong but he's in a whole different league. I'm gonna die. Well if that's the case I'm gonna help Robin and try and take this guy with me._

I ran forward and twisted my whips **"Whip Jetstream!"**

I knocked him up and swung him into the air **"Whip Blizzard!"**

"It over kid!" He slipped past the attacks and pulled me into a hug like he had Robin.

_I'm sorry Robin, I wasn't strong enough, maybe in another life we finally got to go on that date and I told you how I really feel._

"**Ice Time."**

* * *

**AN**

**Yay 50 Chapters! Hope you guys like it extra-long.**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	51. Chapter 51: I Have To Tell You Something

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Luffy's POV**

"Let me go!"

"You're not going!" Zoro said holding me down.

"He wants to do this alone just let him!" Sanji yelled.

"Luffy you know Steve wouldn't do this without a good reason you just have to trust him." Rose pleaded.

"AGGHHH!"

"It's been fifteen minutes let him go already." Wyper said.

I broke free and ran into towards were Steve and Aokiji were. As I got closer the air got colder and colder and the grass began to collect snow and frost.

"There!" Sanji pointed out.

He was standing there, frozen just like Robin. He was stuck in his pose, frozen in time.

_What the hell happened!_

"NOOOO!"

"Don't touch him." Zoro warned "You're shaking too much, you might accidentally break him, let us move him."

The two of them moved Steve back to the ship and brought him inside to Chopper. I went to my seat to wait.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

I just sat there waiting for Chopper to give us some kind of good news. First Robin and now Steve, it was bad. Luffy hadn't said much since they got back, he just sat on the figure head like usual.

"Hey, are you alright?" I said climbing up next to him "It's not like you to be this quiet."

He sat there fingering his ha "I'm fine."

_He's lying._

"Luffy it's okay to be scared. I'm afraid to but sitting around moping won't help anyone." I said putting an arm around his shoulder.

"I can't lose him to."

"I know. It'll be okay." I said pulling him into a hug "I'm gonna go check on things down there just call if you wanna talk some more."

"Okay."

I hopped off the figurehead onto the deck and found Zoro there. We hadn't talked much since we got back down from the sky, but we had to get used to being around each other or there might be problems.

"How is he?" Zoro asked.

"Not good. I haven't seen Luffy like this in a long time. When Steve isn't around Luffy always loses his smile."

"Steve's your brother aren't you scared?" Zoro asked.

"Of course I am, but right now Steve would want me to be strong for Luffy so I gotta keep it together." I said wiping away some tears.

"You're not the only one on this ship; we're all here for each other." He said.

"Thanks." I said "Heh maybe this freeze those desires he has for Robin" I joked trying to lighten the mood.

"Doubt it."

Chopper came out of the bathroom where Steve and Robin were. I called for Luffy because it was clear Chopper had something to say.

_Please be good news._

"Their hearts…are beating again!" he said crying.

I fell to my knees "Thank God."

I looked over at Luffy and the look of relief on his face spoke volumes. Chopper told us that we couldn't go in and see them just yet since they needed rest. Nami said the Log was set but suggested we wait until Steve and Robin were better to leave.

"We'll wait for them to get better." Luffy said agreeing.

Usopp fell onto the deck looking all depressed.

"What's wrong with you?" Zoro asked.

"Are we gonna run into more guys like that?" he asked.

We didn't answer him.

"Just get some sleep it's late and you look exhausted." Zoro told him "You get some rest to." He said gesturing to me.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

_Getting frozen solid sucks, all my joints ache and my muscles are sore._

Apparently a week had passed since my altercation with Aokiji. Robin still wasn't feeling well enough to get out of bed but I decided to go out onto the deck.

"YAY!" Luffy yelled jumping into me and hugging me.

"Easy Luffy I just got out of bed."

"Oh Sorry." He said putting his head down.

"What are you getting all depressed over, cheer up I'm not dead."

"I'm happy." Luffy said.

"Yeah, sorry I worried you." I said with a smile "Don't worry I won't leave like that."

We stood there for a while before Sanji walked passed and made a passing remark about how the two of us looked.

"Would the loving couple like a table?"

"Shut it cook."

Luffy went off to play with Chopper and Usopp. I found Rose throwing darts at the mast.

"Hey." I said.

"You're out of bed, that's good. Where's Robin?"

"She's still not talking much. She was asleep when I came outside. The whole thing shook her up, and me getting frozen to didn't help matters."

"Yeah." She said "it seemed like you getting put on ice did a number on everyone."

"How was he?" I asked.

"You know exactly how he was. The same way he gets every time you get hurt, his smile disappeared. He's still so afraid of having to feel like that again. This gave him a real scare, I haven't seen him that bad in years." She explained.

"If that asshole's out there somewhere I'll tear him a new one. It's all his fault Luffy gets like that."

"Steve it's not fair to blame him, besides it's not like you can exact revenge on a dead guy."

"Whatever."

There was a creaking noise and the door on the upper deck opened and Robin stepped out for the first time in a week.

"Robin! How are you feeling?" Chopper asked her

She still looked pretty exhausted "Much better thank you Doctor."

"Don't feel like you need to rush just because he got out of bed." Rose told her.

Robin asked for a cup of coffee and went about her business. I milled around the deck for a while before heading in to see Robin, I thought the two of us needed to talk. I opened the door and found her talking with Nami.

"Hey." I said letting them know I was in the room.

Nami said hello but Robin didn't. I guess Nami sensed the air in the room and excused herself. Robin and I sat there for a while before I finally said something.

"So…getting frozen sucks."

"Yes it does." She said getting to the point.

"Look let's cut to the point." I said trying not to get frustrated "Me getting frozen is not your fault, and I don't want you to think that."

"Alright."

_Jeez give me something to work with._

"Robin say something, your lack of talking is freaking me out."

She just hummed to herself and didn't speak,

_Let's see what it takes to get her attention._

"Robin…I stayed to fight Aokiji to help you, not make you feel worse. Losing to him sucked, I thought I was dead for sure." I paused to collect my thought making sure I knew what I was about to do "I was worried I'd die and I never get to see you again."

She just shook her head.

_She's not even listening. I have to go all out. I have to tell her._

"I care about you Robin; I care a lot. It's obvious I have feelings for you. I'm crazy about you, so please say something because you're freaking me out!"

Robin picked up her coffee mug and walked off saying "I told you if you kept flirting with me like that you'd end up hurt."

"Robin wait!" I grabbed her wrist "If this is about what Aokiji said about your past I don't care. If it means I can have you I'll fight anything. I'm sick of waiting, I'm taking the lead, so whether you like it or not, the next island I'm taking you out on a date."

She broke free of my grip "I told you no."

"Yeah and I don't care. Go ask anyone on the deck and they'll tell you how obvious the two of us are when it comes to flirting. I'm sick of this song and dance, I'll show you a good time and make all your fears go away."

She walked out onto the deck "Leave me alone please."

I went out onto the deck after her and the rest of the crew was using the oars to chase something.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Gotta get that frog!" Luffy yelled.

I looked past the ship and there was a frog doing the forward crawl. It was a big creature, brown and covered in scars.

_Well you see something new every day._

There was a horn like noise in the distance and the ship suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Nami started screaming for us to turn the ship around. We barely got the Merry free when a huge metal bullet shot past us. The frog didn't move he stood there and took it head on.

"Look Granny pirates!"

We looked over at the slab housing the light house and some old woman came out. She was plastered, fall down drunk.

_Should someone like that really be watching a child?_

Sanji gave them something he had whipped up in the kitchen and that made them very friendly.

"I'm Chimney, this is my Granny Kokoro, and this is Gonbe the cat." The little girl said introducing them.

_Pretty sure that's a rabbit._

The girl explained that we nearly got hit by something called a 'Sea-Train' which is just a steam powered car running on tracks below the water. The frog, whose name is Yokozuna, was trying to beat the train in a contest of strength.

"Alright then I won't eat him, I don't eat hardworking animals." Luffy said

"You really shouldn't eat frogs to begin with." Nami said.

"Yeah they're all slimy." I told him "They don't look tasty."

Luffy wanted to take the train to a place called 'the city of cuisine' but Nami reminded him about following the Log.

"Where's it pointing?" Kokoro asked.

"West."

"Oh boy, you're headed to 'The City of Water' Water Seven. It's a place that specializes in ship building."

"Are the shipwrights there good?" Luffy asked.

"There the best in the world, even the government trusts those guys." Kokoro explained.

"Man we hit the jackpot Luffy, an island full of what we're looking for." I told him.

"Then let's got here and find one to be our friend and become our shipwright!"

The old woman went inside and came back with a scrap of paper "Take this it's a map of the area and a letter of recommendation. Give them to a man named Iceberg and he'll take good care of you. You'll be there a week before the Log records so stay and have some fun."

"We'll be going there soon so maybe we'll see you." Chimney said.

"See ya!" we headed off to Water Seven in search of repairs and a shipwright for the crew.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**We're getting close to my favorite arc, so things should get interesting. **

**Sorry if the interaction between Steve and Robin felt forced in this chapter, as we get closer to Enies Lobby I want to pick things up a bit, but I had trouble forming out here.**


	52. Chapter 52: Water Seven

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for Attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"Leave the finding the shipwright to me." Sanji said "I'll find the best girl for the job."

"Boo! Our shipwright needs to be big, like twenty feet tall!" Luffy yelled.

"He won't fit on the ship." Usopp told him.

"Guy or girl who cars as long as they can fix the ship." Zoro said.

"I'd prefer a man" Wyper said causing all of us to give him a look "That's not what I mean, it's just that if we get another woman the cook is gonna horde more food for them and the rest of us will starve."

"A man it is." We all said.

"What the hell!" Sanji yelled.

"We're here!" Rose yelled.

We went to the front of the ship and saw Water Seven. The city was huge. It had multiple levels and had a huge fountain in the center. While we all marveled at the appearance of the metropolis Nami distributed money so we'd have spending cash.

"If you're pirates you should go in around the back." A man on a small dingy told us.

Half the city was underwater. Robin explained that this place was built on a sunken island so the water rose over houses.

"This is quickly becoming my new favorite stop." I said.

We docked the ship on a small peninsula just outside of town. Once Sanji told them no one would attack us since we were paying customers Luffy and Usopp tried to run off.

"Hold it you two." Nami said grabbing their collars "You're coming with me. We need to see this 'Iceberg' about fixing the ship, and we need to trade the gold in."

"I'm coming to." I told her.

Before we left Rose and Zoro said they'd watch the ship. Chopper and Robin were going shopping.

"I've gotta get food. Ugly Duckling you're coming to help." Sanji said looking a Wyper.

"Who you calling an Ugly Duck!"

"If the wings fit!"

We just walked off leaving those two to settle their own problem.

"Sure it was smart to leave them like that?" Nami asked.

"They'll be fine…hopefully."

"Well then let's get to the exchange." Nami said.

Usopp thought that we'd be better off waiting till after we hit up the shipyard. Nami explained that carrying around all the gold would make us more of a target then just holding some cases of paper bills.

"Plus paper is a lot lighter." I told him.

"Yeah you'll like that Usopp, especially since you and Steve will be the ones carrying it."

We got to the entrance of the city and found a place with a sign for 'Bull Rentals.' Apparently this was a place to rent some kind of creature to pull you around the city, since the city was mostly water we were going to need a ride.

"If there are four of you two Yagara bulls will suffice, but with that bag you way need a third." The salesman said.

"Two cheaper we'll make it work." Nami told him.

"Cheapskate." I mumbled.

The man said we could pick out our own Yagara, they kinda looked like horses. Since one of them licked Luffy that was the one we we're stuck with. After learning our bag was full of gold the man tried to up the price but since we had Nami with us we got out of that problem. He told us that we needed to head to the exchange in the center of the city to get all the gold exchanged. We hopped on the animals and headed off to the exchange. I rode with Luffy and the bag of gold while Nami and Usopp rode together.

"This is fun! These things are so cool, can we keep it?" Luffy asked,

"No we can't keep it, and sit still if you fall in you'll drown." I told him.

The fish were pretty smart, they knew all the shortcuts in town and got us to the market faster than if we had been the ones steering. We ended up in the market and Luffy stopped at every food stand in the place. While he was gorging himself I noticed a lot of people walking around in masks.

_What an odd fashion choice._

We had to take a water elevator up to get to a different level of the city. Luffy really liked this place since everything used water to work; he was really excited to be here. We got to the exchange and traded all the gold in for Beli. The man went to go get us the cash for our gold but Nami thought he was ripping us off.

"Listen up; I have three things to say. First these two combined have a 180 million Beli bounty." Luffy and I smiled when she mentioned us "Second I don't like your offer, and third if you lie again my friend will string you up right here."

The man quickly wrote down a different value and went to get the money.

"300 million!"

We broke the money up into three equal parts of 100 million. Luffy, Usopp and I each took a briefcase. After Luffy nearly lost a case in the water Usopp was forced to carry two to avoid any more accidents. We headed to dock number one to ask Mr. Iceberg about fixing our ship.

"So do we just walk in or what?"

Luffy tried jumping the fence but got pushed back by Usopp…or a guy that looked a lot like him.

"Let's talk outside." The man jumped over to talk to us "Sorry employees only on that side, what can I do for you fine folks today."

"Hi Usopp."

"I'm right here!"

"Really Luffy you can't even recognize your own crew." I groaned.

Nami told the man we wanted to meet Iceberg and handed him the letter.

"Ah a recommendation from Mrs. Kokoro" The man said.

"Do you know Iceberg?" Nami asked.

"Of course Mr. Iceberg is the Mayor of Water Seven. He's also the president of the Galley-La Company and manager of the sea train. He's a very busy man." He said starting to do some stretches "Where's your ship?"

"Oh the peninsula that way." Luffy told him.

"I'll go take a look that way you'll have a price in mind when you meet Iceberg."

The man broke into a sprint and ran straight up a wall.

_How's he run so fast?_

"We all stood there slack jawed.

"Don't worry he does this all the time. He's a foreman of Dock one. Kaku." We turned to see a middle-aged man in a suit

* * *

**Rose's POV**

I was relaxing in up in the crow's nest when I heard some commotion from down below. I looked down and saw a group of men creeping towards Zoro.

"May I help you gentle man?" I yelled down waking Zoro.

_They looked pretty surprised I guess they thought it was only Zoro._

Zoro opened his eyes and didn't look happy. "Who the hell are you?"

"We're bounty hunters and we're gonna take both your bounties. People tremble at the mention of our name, we're the Franky Family!"

I jumped off the mast and took down two men on as I hit the floor.

"**Hawk Wave!"** the rest fell as Zoro swung at them with his swords.

They stood back up and came at us again.

"Just get them off the ship." I told him.

"Fine." He said pushing the back of his swords against my daggers.

"**Double Tatsumaki!"** the whirlwind blew the men out to sea and off our ship.

"How boring." Zoro mumbled returning to his seat.

"Stay awake and things like this won't happen." I told him

Zoro went back to sleep despite my request and I climbed back up to the crow's nest. Another hour past when once again I heard talking beneath me.

"Who the hell are you!?" Zoro asked.

I jumped down and nearly broke through the floor to find a guy who looked a lot like Usopp standing there.

"Calm down I'm here to inspect the ship, your friends sent me."

"Oh okay then, have a look around." I told the man.

Then man took his time and looked at every nook and cranny of the ship. He even had to pull up a few floor boards to get a look and the underside.

"Oh dear."

_That doesn't sound good._

* * *

**Steve's POV**

The man introduced himself as Iceberg and the woman accompanying him was his secretary Kalifa. They had scoped us out because they knew the number of people on our crew and our bounty. The man was the mayor of the city but he was pretty lax, he canceled a dozen appointments right in front of us.

"So this is the guy that old lady talked about huh? He doesn't seem like a good mayor." Luffy said.

"Guess so." Nami to him.

The secretary kicked at us for being insulting. I pulled Usopp to the ground to avoid the attack. She quickly apologized for her outburst. After things calmed down Nami gave Iceberg the letter. He offered to fix the ship and give us a tour of his shipyard.

"Usopp were going in don't forget your portion of the money." I yelled.

"AHHH!" we turned around to see what the long nose was screaming about and saw we were getting robbed in broad daylight.

Some guy with a pet bird told us to wait and he'd take care of it. A man jumped down from the bridge and threw the men off the bulls and brought them back around. Iceberg said that this guy worked for him. The man with a pigeon went over and pulled the man who got our money back over to us and made him return it.

"Jeez Lucci relax I said I give it back." The man grumbled.

The pigeon responded to the man "You tried to use these people's money to pay your debts, you're despicable Paulie."

_A ventriloquist._

Kalifa explained that the men who stole our money were a group called the Franky Family, local bounty hunters and dismantlers.

"They didn't seem too tough." I told Iceberg.

"They might not have been but you should never underestimate Franky himself."

After he returned our money Paulie got in a fight with Lucci, the pigeon guy, the two had a tussle in the street before Iceberg was able to get them to settle down.

The second Paulie took a look at Nami and freaked out "Put some clothes on you indecent girl!"

"Hey back off buddy. She can wear what she wants." I told him.

Iceberg took us inside and gave us the grand tour of his shipyard, he was incredible popular with all the workers. Luffy was so impressed he asked the man if he would be our shipwright.

He told the boy no but Luffy asked him something different "If you won't do you care if I find someone who works here to come with us?"

"I don't know if you'll find one but if you do you're willing to take them with you."

The long nosed man from before landed.

"Did you check the ship?" Nami asked "Where'd Usopp go, I guess it doesn't matter he left the money."

"Luffy get over here!" I yelled "So give it to us straight how much is this gonna cost us?"

"You ship has significant damage you must have been on quite the journey."

"We have so how much is it gonna cost, we have plenty of money" Luffy told him "How long will it take?"

"No, the truth is…not even we can fix your ship. Even if we patched it to the best of our abilities you wouldn't make it to the next island."

_What…This can't be the end. You not gonna die…are you Merry?_

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	53. Chapter 53: The Stolen Money

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

That damn cook dragged me out to help me with his food shopping. While we were out we saw Robin Chopper wasn't with her.

"You think that guy in the mask was him?" Sanji asked me.

"Doubt it why would he need to wear a mask to walk around. Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you? Maybe your eyebrow burrowed into your brain?"

"Shut it!"

We finished the rest of his shopping and got ready to head back to the ship.

"Sanji!"

We looked over and saw the fur ball running towards out boat. He hopped in and told us he couldn't find Robin anywhere.

"This isn't good." I said.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Sanji said.

"It's all my fault I should have been paying attention." Chopper said.

"It's not your fault Chopper. Let's head back to the Merry and hope she's there."

"She better be, cause if she ain't Steve will throw a fit." I told them.

The cook mumbled something about how Robin should pay more attention to him not Steve.

"You're not pulling them apart." Chopper told him "I may be young but even I can tell they have something special."

I just laughed "They should just stop skirting around it and make out already."

That only seems to set the chef off "We're going back to the ship now!"

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"What'd you mean you can't fix the Merry?!" Luffy begged.

"It's the Keel isn't it?" Paulie said.

"Yep."

"Do you folks know what that is…It's like the backbone of a ship. Every piece of wood connects to that beam. If it's cracked there's nothing that can be done. You can't replace a Keel you have to build a new ship." Paulie explained.

"Really, there's no way." I said.

"You're ship is nothing more than a pile of wood waitin' to be scraped."

"How could you say that?!" Nami yelled.

"I'm only telling you the truth." Paulie explained.

"Well than can't you just rebuild the Merry?" Luffy asked.

"Impossible!" The bird cooed "there are no two identical ships."

"What do you mean?"

"There are no two identical trees, the wood may be the similar, but you would be the ones who would notice the difference."

"So you're saying Merry will never sail again?" I asked him hoping this was all just a bad dream.

"That correct." Iceberg said cutting my soul "You can leave it here and take it apart now or let it die naturally. But there is a Brightside, now you can buy a new ship. Even if you ship was brand new a model like that wouldn't last much deeper into the Grande Line, the seas are just too strong."

"Well Luffy…?" I looked at him.

"No…I don't want a new ship!" Luffy said whining "Just fix it I'm sure Merry can keep going, we sailed here today didn't we!"

"Luffy there professionals, they now what their talking about. I know it's hard but we should listen." I told him.

"No I don't believe them!"

"Then you're going to sit on it and watch it sink." Iceberg said "A whiney brat like you thinks he can call himself a captain."

We all just looked at each other for a while. I think what Iceberg had just said hit Luffy personally.

"That's enough for today. Come back if you want a new ship, the 300 million you have will be plenty for a new ship."

The secretary handed us a magazine of ship models and went to help he boss. Some agents from the government came by so we hid behind a nearby pile of wood.

"Hmmmm." Luffy mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Nami asked him.

"They feel light."

"Don't joke like that Luffy." I told him.

"Yeah there's 100 million Beli in there it can't possibly be light." Nami told him as she opened up the cases.

"AHHHH!"

"What the hell are you screaming for?!" Paulie yelled.

"IT'S GONE. 200 MILLION BELI GONE!"

"Those briefcases aren't even yours!"

A man with a bad cowlick asked Kaku if he had been with the Franky Family earlier.

"What are you talking about I haven't seen them all day."

"That's odd I swore I saw a long nosed man with them today."

_Wait…Long…Nose…_

"USOPP!"

"Why was he with them?"

"Well he wasn't with them as much as they were carrying him." The man explained.

"So he was kidnapped!" Nami yelled. "You two go find him!"

Luffy and I went off to try and find our friend. Luffy went to the top of the buildings.

"I'm gonna jump like that foreman."

"Luffy this isn't the time to fool around!"

He jumped anyway.

"Wait for me idiot!" I said throwing a whip around the soaring Luffy.

We flew across the city. It was beautiful from up there in the air. We splashed down in the water and I had to pull Luffy out onto dry land. I looked around and Saw the whole crew, well everybody except Nami, Robin, and Usopp.

"What are you two doing?" Rose asked me.

"HEY! Usopp got taken!" Luffy told them.

"We know we're going to the place he got taken." Sanji explained.

"Usopp got the crap beaten out of him." Wyper said "There's a lot of blood here."

"He must have gone on alone…This is the place Nami found him but he's not here." Zoro said.

* * *

We headed to the Franky House. Outside we found Usopp on the ground. He wasn't in good shape. Chopper treated his wounds and said he'd be okay.

"Just wait for us a little longer Usopp."

"Do whatever you want in there." I told them

When we got close to the door a large man emerged from the house. We sent him flying back into the house. They were having a party, most likely at our expense.

"Look at them, here for the money. What can you do you're just six men and a woman."

Another man about as big as the last guy "If you're as weak as the Long nose I'll give you a free hit.

"**Gum-Gum Bazooka!"** The thick armor that the man was wearing shattered with the blow.

The men were terrified of Luffy's attack "Le…Let's talk this out like gentlemen."

Before they knew it Rose was already behind them "It's far too late for talk. **Sunset Shower!**"

They tried to fire a bunch of cannonballs at us but Zoro took care of them. He not only cut the cannonballs but the cannon as well.

"Holy Crap! He even cut the cannon!"

"You need to be taught a lesson." Sanji told them **"Party Table Kick Course!"**

"Let me show you a real pain **Flame Dial!"**

Wyper scorched the men and sent them running at me and Chopper.

"**Roseo Coronedo!"**

"**Whip Crush!"**

"Listen let's all calm down. If you want the 200 million it's too late. Our boss Franky took that already. He was getting on the Sea Train and we have no idea where he's going. No matter how much you destroy you can't get your money back."

Luffy punched the man in the face.

"You still don't get it." Rose told them.

"This isn't about the money." Sanji explained.

"You made a big mistake." Zoro added.

"We're going to annihilate you." Luffy and I told them.

The fired a bunch of random junk at us.

"**Burn Bazooka!"** Wyper melted all the shrapnel that was shot at us. The rest of us went on a rampage to eliminate our problem.

"**36 Caliber Phoenix!"**

"**Gum-Gum Gatling!"**

"**Whip Tornado!"**

"**20,000 Thorn Broadsword: Fell Stinger!"**

* * *

It took us a few more minutes to tear the whole house down and knock out most of the men.

"Are we going after Franky?" Sanji asked as we sat amongst the rubble.

"Where would we go?" Zoro asked.

"Those guys didn't know anything." Wyper said "We'll have to wait and ask Franky."

"But by then he'll be done shopping and spending **our** money." Rose said.

Chopper told us Usopp was ready to move, he just needed someone to help him carry the sniper.

"Let's head back" I told them "Nami's alone on the ship and you guys said you didn't know where Robin was. Come on Luffy."

_I'm worried about Robin, I hope she's okay._

"I've decided." Luffy said "It's time to say goodbye to Merry."

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**Sorry for the wait. I had a history paper to do this week. School comes first.**


	54. Chapter 54: The Arguement

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We had been back on the Merry for a while now. It was strange being on a ship that we'd be getting rid of soon. And to add to my troubles Robin still hadn't returned yet.

_If she doesn't get back soon I'm going to go from worry to sheer panic._

"Hey everybody Usopp's awake!" Chopper yelled.

We headed into the dining room where Usopp was.

"I'm sorry! I lost the money!"

"Usopp you need rest. Please calm down."

We explained what happened at the Franky House.

"So we still don't have it."

"Who knows well have to wait for Franky to come back." Wyper told him.

"Yeah and even if he doesn't have it we'll still have 100 million left over."

"What the hell were you thinking Usopp; you're lucky to be alive. Going in alone like that, I thought you were smarter than that." Rose told him "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm sorry. I know we only have 100 million left but can we still fix the Merry. We came all this way."

_Time for the hard truth._

I gave Luffy a look and he told Usopp the truth.

"No Usopp. We've decided to get a new ship. The Going Merry has helped us a lot but her sailing days are ending here."

There were a few moments of silence before Luffy pulled out the ship catalog and started looking through it.

"Wait, don't joke around like that. Do we not have enough money? Is this cause I lost the 200 million? Since we went to a high class shipyard they charge high class prices."

"That's not it Usopp." Luffy tried to explain.

"Then tell me, don't hold back! What's the problem?!"

""This has nothing to do with the money!" Luffy yelled.

"Then don't say crap like changing ships!"

"Hey calm down!" I told them.

"How can I be calm when he's spouting crap about changing a ship?!" Usopp yelled at me.

"That was the decision, there is no other choice." Luffy explained.

The room was getting heated. Luffy and Usopp were at each other's throats. Chopper was trying to calm Usopp down because he needed rest and it was taking most of my strength to keep Luffy calm.

"MERRY IS GOING TO DIE!" Luffy yelled.

That statement got Usopp's attention and he calmed down.

"They can't fix her. I wouldn't have made this decision otherwise." Luffy told him.

"This ship took us all the way here!" Usopp said defending his point.

"Yeah but it's only so long till it sinks." Luffy told him.

"What are you talking about?" Usopp said.

"The shipwrights said so. They said no matter what we won't make it to the next island on this ship." I explained.

"Do you always listen to everything strangers say; I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. Just because a few carpenters say that she can't be fixed you believe them! This ship is our friend; she came all this way with us! And you just want to leave her to die!"

We started each other down for a few seconds. Luffy and I weren't budging from our stance and neither was Usopp.

"IS THIS SHIP JUST A TOOL TO YOU?!" Usopp yelled and then coughed up blood.

"Usopp please, you need rest." Chopper told him.

"What'd you know?" Luffy told him.

"Hey watch it." I said giving him and eye.

"There's no carpenter on this ship, that's why we need them to look at it."

"We don't need them. I'll fix it like always." Usopp said trying to stand.

"Usopp just stop." Sanji told him.

"First I have to get some wood and screws too."

"USOPP!" Luffy yelled "You're not a shipwright!"

"So what! This isn't their ship either. They're just giving you a sales pitch, and you believed them. We can fix our own ship. They Strawhats I know wouldn't fall for some cheap advertisement. They'd believe in the strength of the Going Merry. Don't go around saying 'I've decided' like you're some kind of real captain."

_Watch what you say._

"I misjudged you." Usopp said.

"Please stop." Nami pleaded.

"Shut up Nami!" Luffy yelled "I made my decision! You won't change my mind! We're saying goodbye to the Merry and getting a new ship."

"I won't let you!" Usopp challenged.

"Both of you knock it off!" I told them.

"Unlike you two I'm not ruthless; I can't leave my friends behind!" Usopp yelled.

"Ships and people are two different things!"

"There the same. Merry is alive. You probably wanted a new ship from the beginning!" Usopp said "You're just so stupid and carefree you'd leave the Merry behind!"

"Watch your mouth Usopp." I said giving him a glare.

Luffy tackled Usopp to the ground "What the hell do you know! You're not the only one who cares about the Merry."

"If you cared you wouldn't change ships!"

"If you don't like my decision just leave!" Luffy yelled.

I threw Luffy across the room "Watch your mouth! Think before you speak you Idiot!"

"Sorry…I didn't mean…"

"No I get it. If that's how you two really feel." Usopp said.

"What was that?" I asked him.

"Leaving crewmembers behind so you can keep moving forward." Usopp responded "If you want to leave the ship behind leave me with it."

"Usopp you can't be serious." Rose said.

"No I've been thinking about this for a while. I can't keep up with all of you. Today proved I'm nothing more than a bag boy who can't hold some cash. You don't need me; Wyper can do everything I do and more."

"Hey! I didn't come here to be your replacement." Wyper told him "There are a ton of things you can do I can't."

"No in the future I'll just be in the way. You two want to be Kings of the Pirates, but I don't want to go that far. Think back to when I joined. The fate that brought us together that day was only so strong. We don't have the same goal so we should go our separate ways." Usopp said getting up and walking out.

"Usopp where are you going!" Nami yelled as we followed him out onto the deck.

"Wherever I want…I quit."

_Stop you moron!_

"Usopp Stop!" "Please wait!" "You don't have to do this!"

"I can't go with you anymore. I won't hold you two back." Usopp said "But a ship belongs to its captain, so fight me. If I win I get the Going Merry. So Monkey D. Luffy, Steve! I challenge you to a duel! I'll be back at ten o'clock. We duel for the right to keep the Going Merry. After that everything between us will be over." And with that Usopp walked off.

_Ten o'clock is just a few hours away._

Luffy and I headed inside to the men's bunk to get some rest before Usopp came back in a few hours.

_If this is what you want this is what you'll get you ungrateful punk. First Robin disappeared and now Usopp quit, what the hell happened to us. Robin is a big girl she can take care of herself. I need to deal with the problem here. Besides she's been avoiding me like the plague maybe it's for the best if we have some time apart. I hope she's okay though. I can't shake this sick feeling._

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" Nami said barging into out room "Nothing good can possibly come from this, you guys are friends. You all need to calm down. Usopp only said those things because he was upset."

I saw Luffy look over at the navigator "What's done is done." I could tell from his voice he didn't want to talk right now, he wasn't happy.

"Just go apologize and talk this out. You're supposed to be the levelheaded one!" Nami yelled at me "Why didn't you stop them!"

"Be quiet Nami, We're grown men capable of making our own decisions. Stop complaining, we can't go back now. Usopp isn't an idiot. He made his choice. If there had been another way I wouldn't have let it end like this. If you understand go away." I told her.

"But Steve…"

"I told you to leave Nami…"

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

"Will you two shut up this isn't anyone's fault." Rose pleaded.

"If this idiot had finished them off this morning none of this would have happened!" Sanji said.

"Look at you!" Zoro countered "You and Wyper went shopping and left us to here to watch the ship!"

"I was doing my job!"

"Well you didn't need him with you!" Zoro said.

"Will you all be quiet?" I mumbled "The attack earlier had nothing to do with Usopp's decision, he chose a material object over us and that's it. The attack by the Franky Family made no difference."

"You really think this is all about Merry?" Rose asked.

"A man who'd choose an object over his friends is no real man if you ask me." I told her.

"What'd do you know you just met him." Zoro told me.

"I'm not happy about this either." I told him "How the hell do you think it feels to be called a replacement. I never met to make him feel that way. I thought he and I really got along. I didn't know I made him feel threatened. It sucks you know, I've only been here a few days and I feel like I'm the reason you all got torn apart."

"Shut it your three we don't need any more arguments." Nami said entering the room "Sanji this is not Zoro and Roses fault, and Wyper you're not a replacement. Everybody calm down."

The reindeer came in not to long after.

"Chopper didn't you go after Usopp?" Zoro asked.

"I wanted to finishes treating him…He pushed me away and went to the city…He said 'we're finished go back to the ship."

Poor guy was pretty upset. Rose gave him a hug but that doesn't do wonders to heal pain like that.

"What happened? This morning we were all so happy." Nami observed "Now Robin's missing…It feels like we're falling apart."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"It's five to ten Luffy. Usopp will be here soon, let's go."

Luffy and I made our way out onto the rocky shore without a word to the others.

"It's ten o'clock."

"None of you are to come down here understand!" I yelled back.

I looked back and saw Usopp walking up to us.

"You look determined" Luffy said "I hope you don't regret your decision."

"Stop pretending. I'm prepared so come get me. I will beat the two of you. I'm not like your past opponents I've been with you a while I know you inside and out. Don't be surprised, but I have 8,000 followers waiting for my command to attack. Surrender now if you don't want to die!"

"I'm pretty sure you're lying Usopp." Luffy said.

"What'd you mean pretty sure?! I'm confident he's lying."

"Eat this **Usopp Spell! **There are 10,000 razor blades beneath your fingers."

"**Gum-Gum…!" **Luffy ran at Usopp but stopped short when he spit up some blood.

"Don't fall for that Luffy!"

"**Flash Dial!"**

A bright light appeared and blinded Luffy and I. Usopp hit Luffy with an egg.

"Will you get serious?!" Luffy told him.

"This is the way I fight!"

"Then I'll end you, you piece of crap!** Whip Lash!**" _Something is in my foot_ "OWWW!"

"You need to look where you go you stepped into **Caltrop Hell. **I will get the Going Merry no matter what."

"Bastard." I groaned pulling the spike out of my foot.

"**Shuriken Shower!" **Luffy and I were forced to dodge a barrage of blades being thrown at us.

"Hey those are mine!" Rose yelled.

_What's that smell?_

*sniff* "Luffy do you smell that?"

"I can't smell anything over this nasty egg, it's all rotten."

"I've surrounded you with gas."

_Oh shit!_

"**Flame Star!"**

There was a huge explosion that shook even the ocean. Luffy and I both got knocked to the ground.

"Crap that was close." I mumbled "Can we wrap this up please."

Luffy stood up and charged through the smoke **"Gum-Gum Gatling!" **

Luffy hit one of Usopp's bullets midair and sent a hail if thorns at the two of us.

"Be careful dammit!"

Usopp shit another hail of bullets at us but I swept them away "Go Luffy!"

Luffy punched Usopp in the face and then shifted into another attack **"Gum-Gum Bazooka!"**

The attack collided with Usopp's chest and I went to finish him off with my whips.

"That was an Impact Dial. Thank you for the contribution Luffy. I'm sure Steve will love to feel what it be like to have you hit him."

I was falling towards the ground when Usopp palm was placed in front of me.

_This is gonna hurt._

"**Impact!'**

I got hit and I felt like my body exploded from the inside. I coughed up some blood and fell to the ground.

"STEVE!"

I struggled but managed to get up "Relax Luffy I'm fine. You maggot, make Luffy hit me. I'LL END YOU!"

I saw Luffy throw his hand back and I followed suit with my whip.

"**GUM-GUM BULLET!" "Whip Storm Front!**

That ended it. Our attacks hit and Usopp fell to the ground.

"Why…" I whispered.

"YOU KNEW YOU COULDN'T BEAT US!"

Luffy and I got up off the ground "Do whatever you want with the Merry. We will get a new ship and press on. It was fun while it lasted Usopp."

We walked back to the ship to get our things. I tried…I tried so damn hard but I couldn't stop it…No matter what I did the tears wouldn't stop pouring out of my eyes.

"That's what it is to be a captain." Zoro told us "If you two can't make tough calls then who can we put our trust in. Gather your things, we can never return to this ship."

We got all our stuff and made our way to a hotel in the city. Along the way Luffy managed to calm down for a while. The walk was taken in silence, no one really sure what to say. Nami got us some rooms and we all moved our stuff in. I didn't waste any time getting to bed. I had barely sat down when there was a knock on my door. I opened it up to find Luffy there.

"Come on in pal."

I sat down on the bed and he sat with me. He spent most of the night on my bed crying his eyes out. I wanted to cry to but right now I needed to be strong.

_Zoro was right; if I can't be strong no one can trust me. First thing in the morning we were getting the new ship and I was going to look for Robin. I'm sick of being weak. I need to prove I'm strong so the others won't have to worry and feel weak like Usopp. I need to protect them. I'll show Robin I'm strong. I'll show her she doesn't have to fear men like Aokiji._

I looked over and saw that a few hours had passed while I was lost in thought. It was late and Luffy had fallen asleep on my bed. I grabbed a blanket and threw it over him.

"I need to get stronger to protect you to. I promised to never let you feel like that again. I need to be ready for anything."

I climbed into bed and pulled the comforter over myself leaving a layer between Luffy and I.

"Good night Luffy."

_I will get stronger. I won't let something like this happen again._

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	55. Chapter 55: The Incident and Franky

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

I slowly stirred awake. I looked over and saw Luffy was still in my bed. I got out of bed and then garbed the blanket and pulled Luffy of the bed.

"Get up lazy bones."

"Gaahh! I'm up!"

"Nami said she'd meet us on the roof and then we'd go look at ships."

"Okay!" he said following me out the door

"It to early stop talking so loud or you wake people up." I said as we took the stairs up to the roof.

Zoro, Rose, Wyper, and Chopper were already up there when we got to the roof. Luffy stretched himself over to a nearby roof and sat alone.

"Morning you're all up early."

"Couldn't sleep." They all responded.

"Oh I slept great."

"We rented all those rooms the least you can do is stay in them." Sanji said walking out onto the roof.

"Yeah well I saw you outside last night so what does it matter." Rose said "What were you doing?"

"I was keeping watch on the peninsula in case Robin showed up. I don't know where she went, especially without saying anything."

_Right Robin's still not back yet. I'm getting worried. I'll go with Luffy and get a ship then I'll start looking. I can't let her wander around all day incase she's in danger._

"Sanji I want you and…Rose to spend the day looking for Robin."

"We'll have so much fun Sweet Flower!"

"Chopper you go with them make sure they stay on task." I told the reindeer.

"Roger!"

"Wyper, you and Zoro stay here in case Robin makes her way here. I'll be taking Luffy and Nami top get us a ship, if something happens regroup here on the roof alright everyone."

"Luffy! Steve!" Nami called for us running up to the roof "There's an emergency. Last night Iceberg was shot!"

_Just great more crap to get in the way! I thought I was gonna like this city but so far it's nothing but trouble._

"He's unconscious right now. He's so important they're calling this the city's greatest tragedy."

"Who is this guy Nami?" Wyper asked.

"He's the man who helped us at the shipyard yesterday…and he's the mayor of Water Seven."

"A man as respected as him…this is certainly strange."

"I'm going to take a look." Luffy said jumping off the tower.

"Wait for me moron!" I followed suit and hopped off the roof "you guys get moving and find Robin."

We landed on the ground and Nami made her way out the front door. We rented another fish and made our way to Galley-La. They were giving out free newspapers so we grabbed one and started reading the front page.

"Look." Luffy said "It's on the front page."

"Yeah this is big. We might not be able to get in to see him." Nami said.

"We won't know till we get there so let's keep going."

We got to the Dock but there was so much traffic we couldn't even get close to the door.

"Looks like we won't be getting in right now." I observed.

A local man told us they were only letting a select number of reports because everyone was so concerned they keep trying to control the crowd.

"Guess this is as close as we can get for now." Nami said.

Some real funky music started ringing out throughout the streets.

"What the hell is that racket?" I wondered.

"Oh no it's them!" "Go away!"

"Don't be shy just ask…ask my name." A man's voice said from behind a curtain.

"We don't want to go away." "I bet he's the one who attacked Iceberg."

"I know you're here Strawhat, and your Torturer friend to. Show your selves." The curtain fell to reveal a man and two women tapping there feet in some dumb dance.

The man had blue hair and huge arms that were far too big for is body, also he barely had any clothes on, only a floral shirt and a speedo.

"I'm the most 'Super!' man in all of Water Seven. They call me…Franky!"

Everyone on the street that wasn't me, Luffy or Nami ran in fear at the mention of this guy's name.

"Who's that weirdo?" Luffy asked?

"Did he just say 'Franky?"

"So this is the elusive Franky." I said standing up.

"That's him." Luffy said with a look of determination "Hey you! I'm Luffy!"

"So you're Luffy? I take it he's Steve." The man gestured to me "You two squirts have made a big mess while I was out of town."

"Oh that." I told him "That was just playtime. Where's our money."

"I spent every penny."

_Dammit._

"The money isn't important. I'm gonna kick your ass." Luffy told him.

"I think you have it backwards." Franky told him "I'll be the one kicking your ass."

"Get down here so we can make you cry for mercy!" I told him.

He ignored me and started taking in a breath of air.

"What's he doing?" Nami asked.

Suddenly a huge flame erupted out of Franky's mouth.

"What the..!"

"He can breathe fire!"

"Is it a Devil Fruit?" Nami asked

Franky quickly disproved that by jumping in to the canal.

"Maybe not, if he does why willingly jump into water." I said.

A fist shattered our little boat and forced us to flee into the air.

"He can swim!"

"I didn't eat a Devil Fruit!"

Now that we were suspended in the air I attached my whip to a nearby pole and grabbed Nami and swung us to safety. Luffy went to punch Franky but got hit himself.

"**Strong Right!"** Franky's fist detached from his arm and slammed into Luffy. The fist was connected to his arm by a large metal chain.

"What the hell is this guy?!"

"Ah you guys don't know. I guess I'll tell you then…" Franky said as he screwed his fist back onto his arm "I'm a cyborg."

"You need to pay more attention to your surroundings cyborg" I said as my whips tied around his waist.

I spun in place and hurled Franky over a nearby wall **"Whip Tornado!"**

Luffy followed Franky over the wall and I wasn't too far behind.

"If you're a cyborg we'll just crush the metal that makes you **Whip Crush!**" My weapons slammed into Franky's chest, Luffy fist wasn't far behind "Take this **Gum-Gum Pistol!**"

Both attacks moved Franky's body but they didn't leave even a dent.

"Crap. We need more that that Luffy."

"Fine. **Gum-Gum Rifle!**" Luffy twisted arm hit Franky but the same result; he just got moved but took no real damage.

"**Strong Right!"**

I ducked under the flying punch and grabbed the chain holding it. I pulled it like I would one of my whips and sent Franky hurdling towards Luffy.

"Now Luffy!"

"Dodge this. **Gum-Gum Gatling!"**

A few of Luffy punches landed before he suddenly stopped attacking "Ow, Ow, Ow. That hurts!"

_That's right this guy's metal. _

"Your attacks are useless." Franky stood up and his left hand flipped open to reveal a gun scope **"Weapons Left!" ** A rocket shot out and Luffy and I barely got out of its way.

As we hit the ground the two of us were sent flying into a pile of rubble nearby.

_What the hell. Did Franky do that?_

Luffy and I dug ourselves out of the pile and saw who attacked us.

"Galley-La?"

_They don't look happy. I think this one on two is about to become a two on one on four._

"It ain't nice to interrupt others fights." Franky told them.

"We would have come for you eventually Franky." Kaku told the man.

"HOW DO YOU INTEND TO FIX THIS?!" a large bearded man asked.

"Relax Tilestone we can deal with that later." Paulie told him "There's something more important right now."

_They still haven't looked at us. Something is wrong here._

"How dare you two show your faces around here?" Paulie said finally acknowledging us.

"Huh?"

"We heard the news about Ice-pops so we came to see him." Luffy told him.

"Wow so my boys weren't enough for you huh, you messed with Galley-La too. Wow you two kids are dumb." Franky remarked.

"We didn't do anything!" I told him.

"If you going to tell such bold lies I'll just have to tie you up here! **Rope Action: Half Knot!**" one of Paulie's ropes tied itself around Luffy neck and started strangling him.

"Luffy!" I grabbed the rope and got to work untying it.

_I've never seen such expert rope work. He controls those ropes like my whips._

"**Air Drive!"** The Rope contracted and Luffy and I got sent flying into a pile of wood near us.

Luffy threw the junk off us "I don't understand. Why?"

The man with the cowlick shot at us but Luffy was able to catch the bullets with his body. I slid under him since he was in the air and came face to face with the man's boot.

"Ugh!" The heel slammed into my face and I got planted.

"I told you they're mine!" Franky yelled shooting at the shipwrights.

Kaku and Tilestone were easily able to send Franky flying like it was nothing.

_Those two dealt with him no problem. Am I really weaker than a carpenter?_

I pulled myself off the ground to find Luffy dodging a barrage of punches from Lucci. I heard a whizzing noise and ducked under a rope.

"Buzz off!" I grabbed the rope and got into a tug of war with Paulie.

I snagged one of my whips around his wrist and the two of us got into a struggle for dominance.

"Tell me why!"

I looked over and saw Luffy get sent flying. Just like that I felt my feet lift off the ground. I had given Paulie an opening and he took it. He sent me flying just like Luffy. I crash landed next to Luffy.

"Just give us a reason?!" Luffy begged.

"We're the ones asking for a reason." Paulie told him "You're the ones who snuck in and Shot Iceberg!"

"What are you talking about?! Why would we do that?!"

"Iceberg remembers two people entering his room last night. One of them belongs to you. Some woman named Nico Robin."

"Robin?!"

_This is a load of crap, no way Robin shot Iceberg._

"I don't know why you did it but I don't care. I'll kill you here and now!"

I looked over and saw a chisel flying towards Luffy and me. I pulled my friend to the ground but before we landed I felt the blade dig into my shoulder.

"**GAAHH!"**

"Steve!"

_THAT"S GONNA LEAVE A MARK! AHHH THIS HURTS._

I stood up and pulled the weapon out of my shoulder "Shut your damn mouth."

"Excuse me?!"

"How dare you talk about her like that? Accusing her of murder. You don't know Robin like I do. Say one more thing about her and I kill you!"

"Let us talk to Iceberg." Luffy pleaded "I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding. Robin wouldn't do that."

"AHH!"

"Nami!" Some punk from the crowd had grabbed Nami just for being with us.

"Put her down now!"

"This is the price you pay. Hurt that man and you hurt the whole city."

"Just let us talk to Iceberg!" Luffy yelled.

"Enough Luffy." I told him "You can't get them to let you in." A rope shot at Luffy but I grabbed it midair and held it tight "We're done fighting you."

I saw that they had changed the guns out for sawblades. It was gonna get bloody if we didn't do something.

"Luffy we have to run." I told him as we ducked under a blade.

"Fine!"

We tried to get out of there dodging a barrage of sawblades and cannon fire. We were almost home free when we got pinned to the wall by a bunch of those chisels.

_NO! I can't let it end here!_

I Cannon shot at us and blew up the wall we we're connected to. My ears kept ringing for a few minutes and I was covered in dirt.

_I can feel my hearing coming back._

"**Coup De Vent!"**

The pile pinning Luffy and I shifted and gave us a chance to escape.

"Nami let's go!" Luffy grabbed Nami and hurled us up to a nearby tower.

"They're getting away!"

"Let's find the others and start looking for answers." I told Luffy.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

We had been all over town and still no sign of Robin. We had checked the Sea Train and everything. At one point we stopped back at the Merry to warn Usopp of an incoming storm called Aqua Laguna.

"Sanji…Everyone's looking at me." I said.

"Yeah I noticed." He said pulling the hood on my sweatshirt up "Keep your head down"

It was starting to get bad out so I had purchased some additional clothing. During our search of Town Sanji asked someone about Robin and he called her an assassin. That allowed us to figure out why everyone was looking at me.

"The newspaper." Chopper said.

The paper said that we tried to kill Iceberg. It had pictures of me, Zoro, Luffy, Robin and Steve.

"We need to hurry if someone I.D's me we're going to have a problem."

*Sniff*

"What the matter Chop…! ROBIN!"

I looked across the river and saw Robin there.

_Good we found her._

"Where have you been? Everyone is worried about you." I told her.

"Let's go back to the hotel." Sanji told her "A lot has happened. On second thought stay there we'll come to you."

"No." She told him "We are fine where we are…I won't be going back with you."

"Excuse me?" I said thinking I misheard her.

"We shall say our goodbyes here."

"Robin?"

"Is this about that story in the paper?" Sanji asked "Don't worry we don't believe that. They always blame the pirates when bad things happen."

"Yes you were falsely accused. However for me that story is true. I did break in and attempt to kill Iceberg last night."

_No…It can't be. I never liked Robin but she never struck me as a killer._

"I am a darkness that you can't understand, a darkness that will be the end of you. You will all take the fall for my crime. I will be leaving soon and the situation will get worse."

"What are you saying? WHY!" I yelled.

"Why? I have no need to tell you why."

"Don't do this Robin…" I said.

"While I was with you, you treated me well. Say 'Hello' to your brother for me."

"Don't turn your back to me!" I yelled "If you walk away it will break his heart! If you do that I'll never forgive you! Don't do this to him…you know how much he cares! He loves you!"

"Goodbye."

"ROBIN!~"

Sanji and I dove into the water to try and get across the street and stop her but when we got over to the other side she was gone.

"Chopper…" Sanji called the deer's attention "I want you to go back and tell Steve and Luffy what happened here. Don't leave anything out…well you can leave the part about Rose never forgiving her out."

"What are you two gonna do?"

"Don't worry I have a plan we'll be fine." Sanji told him "Now go!"

Chopper ran off to find Luffy and my brother and tell them what had transpired.

"You have a plan, and do I really need to be involved?"

"Come on we don't have much time."

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message any questions or concerns.**


	56. Chapter 56: A Meeting With MrIceberg

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"This is bad." Nami said "The wind is changing…a storm is coming."

"We can think about that later." I told her "Iceberg is in there and I want to talk to him."

"Let me remind you we're being chased so…"

"Let's go Luffy."

"Okay!"

Luffy threw his arms over to the nearby building and rocketed us across the gap. We broke through a large window at the front of the building.

"We're under attack!"

Luffy and I sprinted through the halls and down the first set of stairs.

_I have to find that man. I'll tear the whole place down if I have to._

"Where is it?"

"I don't know Luffy. OUT OF MY WAY!" I swatted some novice out of my way and kept moving "Luffy get us back up to the second level"

"Strawhat!"

"The secretary?" the woman was calling us over.

"Over there."

Luffy changed directions and pulled us over to the woman. We landed in front of a set of double doors.

"Mr. Iceberg would like to speak with you." She opened the door and let us in.

"Uhh. Thanks."

We entered the room and saw Iceberg in his bed.

I leaned over to Luffy "Let me do the talking understand, but don't be afraid to stop me if I get out of control."

"Right."

"You want to speak with me _Boy._"

"I want the real story."

"Last night I saw Nico Robin. She is one of you?"

"That's correct."

The man moved his hand out from under the cover and pointed it at me "I want to meet with her again."

"No need for the gun, we're just talking."

"Where is she?" he asked.

"I don't know"

*BANG*

I moved to the side and avoided the bullet and ran at the man. I grabbed his neck and started choking him.

"Listen to me you son of a bitch! Robin is a wonderful lady so you better not be lying to me!"

I could see the life draining from his eyes as I squeezed harder.

"Steve let go!"

_I'll kill him!_

I felt Luffy pulling on my shoulder; it was the side with the gash from the chisel on it.

"Ahh!" I yelled in pain from my wound, I let the man go and he gasped for air "If I ever hear you talk about my Robin like that again…next time I won't let go. Come on Luffy."

Luffy broke the window and jumped across the street. We made our way back to the roof that Nami was on.

"Were you able to speak with Iceberg?"

"Yeah…he insist he saw Robin." I told her.

"But why would Robin do something like that?"

"I won't believe him. Never."

"Let's head back to the hotel and regroup with the other." Luffy suggested.

"Yeah fine."

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

"You wanna tell me why everyone is trying to kill us?!" I asked.

"This is why." Zoro said handing me the paper "We're the associates of an assassin."

"Just great." I groaned "Well we can't go back to the hotel, which sucks because most of our stuff is there. I only have two dials on me so if we get in a fight I can't help you too much."

"It's fine your photo isn't in the paper so maybe we need to split up." He suggested.

"Bad idea, we're fragmented enough as it is we can't afford to spread too thin."

"Hey it's the swordsman from the paper!"

"Oh crap!"

We got up and ran from the mob that was now chasing us. I had a pair of skates on me but as much as I wanted to I wasn't smart to leave the swordsman behind, and since I didn't have time to teach him I'd have to run.

"This way." He said pulling me into an alley.

We had avoided the mob for a few seconds only to have them find us as soon as we caught our breath.

"Oh come on!"

"Zoro, Wyper!"

Luffy, Nami, and Steve we running over a bridge also trying to ditch the mob chasing them. We ran over to them making the mob chase all of us. We around the streets looking for a place to hide out.

"Luffy can you get us under the bridge?" Steve asked.

"I can try."

"Better not screw this up." I told him.

We climbed under the bridge and sat on the suspended Luffy.

"Heavy…"

"Keep your mouth shut."

We waited till it got quiet and waited a few more seconds.

"Is it safe?" Nami asked.

"WAHH!" Luffy yelled and let go and dropped us into the water.

"What the hell Luffy?!" we all yelled.

He just sat there flailing around in the water. Steve dragged him over to the curb and we pulled ourselves out of the water.

*cough* "What the heck! Don't do that Chopper!"

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We made our way over to the roof of the nearby building and got settled.

"How'd you find us Chopper?" Zoro asked him.

"Smell."

"Chopper where's Sanji and Rose?" I asked him as he wrapped my shoulder.

He explained that the three of them had found Robin but she told them that she was abandoning us. Sanji and Rose sent him back to report to us while the two of them formed a plan of their own.

"Bull! Robin wouldn't do that!" I yelled at the deer "You better not be lying to me you runt!"

"Enough!" Zoro yelled "Chopper didn't do anything wrong don't take your anger our on him."

"I know Robin…something like that it's just not her."

"Listen to yourself. You're so infatuated with this woman you refuse to look past what you think you know." Zoro told me "Robin joined us after being our enemy, after spending this much time with us she wouldn't leave out of fear. So tonight we look for answers, we need to decide if she's friend or foe."

"Chopper you said that Robin told you today would be the last time we meet, right?" Wyper asked "If that's true she must be planning something to make our lives even worse. This city is already up in a tizzy over an attempt at the life of the mayor. There is only one thing that might piss them off more."

"If Iceberg got killed." Nami said finishing his sentence.

"If you think that Robin setting us up going there would only be setting ourselves up to get accused." I told them "I still have doubts that she'd set us up but I need answers, I'm going to that mansion to night. You can come if you want to but I will prove you wrong Zoro. I will make Robin come back to me."

"You mean us right?" Luffy said.

"Sure…us."

"Iceberg and Sanji both said they saw a man in a mask walking with Robin." Nami said "Since that's not any of us who is it?"

"Do you think someone's controlling her?" Chopper asked.

"That's an optimistic guess." Wyper told him with a smile.

"But the inverse is that they are partners and she's willingly doing this." Zoro told him.

"What's our target tonight?" Nami asked.

"We catch Robin…" I told her.

"She's been on the run for twenty years." Luffy said "Even the government can't catch her."

"She won't escape me." I told her "She won't turn her back to me."

"Sitting around won't get anything done." Wyper said.

"He's right." Luffy hopped up "Let's get going."

* * *

We arrived at Iceberg's mansion and hid out in a tree to wait for our chance to strike. I wasn't too happy about standing around but rushing in might not help.

_I will get you to tell me the truth Robin. I don't believe you'd do this for no reason._

"Luffy can you stretch us across?" Chopper asked.

"It's pretty far but I think I can."

"We need to stay away from the commotion on the lower portions." Nami said.

"There are a lot of people." Chopper observed through his binoculars.

"And they all look ready to shoot anyone who walks by." Wyper said.

"Get ready…tonight's gonna be a long night." Zoro said.

_I'm ready…I'm coming for you Robin._

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	57. Chapter 57: The Night at the Mansion

_Italics indicates thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

_How much longer…_

I got my wish, just as I finished thinking that the wall of the mansion exploded.

"Let's go Luffy."

Luffy grabbed me and launched us across to the mansion.

_The rest of you can catch up on your own._

"We're splitting up here." I told him as I swung onto a nearby lamp.

"Wait…" he called after me but I was going on my own.

I tried my best to keep out of sight as to not further complicate the situation. I moved around the house quickly, avoiding whoever I could.

"Dammit where the hell is she?"

While I surveyed the land trying to find Robin someone ran through the air and jumped over my head.

"What the hell?"

The masked person swung a spiked whip and me but I managed to avoid the crude device.

"That's quite a toy you have there."

"Unless you want to die move."

"I can tell by your voice you're not Robin. My best bet is that Chopper was right and someone is making her do these things. I'll be stopping you in your tracks. Not one more step." I told the masked man.

"I don't have time for little boys like you." The person told me.

"Well make some! **Whip Jetstream!**" The whips coiled and unspun as they got closer to the masked person, but they hit nothing but air.

"Where'd you go?"

"I said I don't have time." I turned around to see the person was now behind me. I felt my side and saw the whip had lashed at it.

"How?"

_Did this guy run that fast? Impossible even Kuro wasn't that fast, and he couldn't see doing it so he had no idea what he attacked. How'd this guy move that fast and land an accurate attack._

The masked person jumped up and walked in the air **"Moonwalk." **And just like that he was gone.

"What the hell are we dealing with?"

_I have to find Iceberg. Chances are that's were Robin will be._

I clutched my side and kicked in a window to make my way into the house. Everywhere was littered with bodies of men who had fallen to those freaks running around killing people to get at Iceberg.

_I came for Robin, but I can't let them hurt that man. He's done nothing wrong. _

I saw the door to Iceberg's room. There were chairs set up for the foremen but all but one was empty. Kaku and Lucci were on the ground and a man in a bear mask was sitting in the middle chair.

I saw that loud bearded man, Tilestone, Go at the bear man with a hammer but when it hit his fist it just shattered.

"**Iron Body."**

And just like that he threw a man the size of a small boat through the floor.

_Holy Crap! He took that guy out in one hit. Those guys nearly killed me this morning, I don't stand a chance._

When the man went after the men who came with Tilestone I took the chance to slip into the room as quietly as I could.

I slammed the door once I got in to get the attention of the people inside. They weren't too happy to see me.

"I didn't want to see you here, I tried to be positive, and I can't believe you right now." I told the woman in the room "Put the gun down Robin."

"You're not supposed to be here." She said still holding the gun to Iceberg's forehead.

"Well I am. If you kill Iceberg we're going to have a real problem."

The snail in Robin's pocket rang and said that the rest of this group was coming.

"You should leave while you still can Steve."

"I'm not moving."

"Just go!"

"You ain't the boss of me." I told her "I'm not leaving unless you're with me."

I felt a sharp pain in my back and looked behind to see a person in a bull mask stab my back, with his fingers.

"Ugh." I fell to the ground and coughed up some blood.

_I can't move. I can still move my toes so I don't think I'm paralyzed._

There were now four people in the room "Who the hell are you people?"

That pigeon from the dock flew in and landed on the bull man's shoulder.

I laughed to myself "I see we all got played."

"Let's talk" the bull man said taking off the mask.

"Do you get it Iceberg?" I asked the man "I'm sorry you got fooled"

"I can't believe this." Iceberg said surprised "I expected better from you Lucci."

I recognized the two of the other masked people as Kaku, the foreman, and Kalifa, the secretary. I didn't know the last man, the one wearing the bear mask.

"Blueno from the bar?"

_I guess that's his name._

"You were all with the government."

_That's who they work for._

I felt Robin's gun on the back of my head "Don't do this beautiful."

"Tell us where the blueprints are before more people die."

"We've been undercover here for five years." Lucci told Iceberg "It would be wise for you to not waste my time." He explained that they were from the government, a secret branch called Cipher Pol Number Nine, or CP9 for short.

"I wasn't aware they even went that high." Iceberg said.

"Yes because we have special privileges that give us to the ability to kill anyone who won't cooperate."

"There should be no killing in justice." Iceberg told him.

_I'm bleeding out over here someone help me!_

"You don't trust the government, do you Iceberg?" I said from the ground "I guess were a lot alike."

"I only know the nature of humanity."

Lucci kicked him across the room and started interrogating the man. Kaku took his pulse they talked about these blueprints and someone named Cutty Flam. Most of the conversation was about those ancient weapons Robin told me about.

"So that means that Tom's other disciple Cutty Flam is still in Water Seven." Lucci revealed "And he now goes by the name Franky!"

"Your blood doesn't lie." Kaku said.

"It makes sense you'd entrust the blueprints to Franky, they'd be safe since we thought he was dead."

"Hurry up let's go find Franky." Kalifa told them.

The wall at the back of the room cracked and shattered. I took the chance to get off the floor and away from the gun.

"Where's Robin!" Luffy and Paulie broke through the wall and Zoro and the other burst through the door.

"Everybody arrived." I mumbled straining to stand up.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Zoro yelled.

"I've been right here."

"Steve what happened to you!" Chopper yelled "You're covered in blood!"

"Don't worry about it right now; these are the people trying to kill Iceberg."

"Wait don't these people work here?" Nami asked "Are you saying this was an inside job."

"Yes, we are really government agents. Paulie you'll forgive me if I apologize to you right, I mean we built ships together. Do you want me to prove it to you; I can step on Iceberg's face if you like."

"You…you lied to me! **Pipe Hitch Knives!**" Paulie threw a rope full of knives at Lucci.

"**Finger Pistol." **Just like my back a hole was dug into Paulie's chest with a mere finger.

"Why?" Paulie asked trying to stand "WHY?!"

"It doesn't matter." Lucci told him "I'll end you here and now."

"Stop it!" I threw a whip at Lucci but he caught it. I cut the cord and attacked with more fervor **"Whip Hurricane!" **The series of rapid strikes hit but they did no damage.

"**Iron Body. **This is growing tiresome **Shave." **He disappeared like the woman had earlier.

_Another magic technique._

"**Finger Pistol!" **His finger dung at my neck but luckily missed my vital parts "You got lucky."

Luffy grabbed Paulie and pulled him to safety "Weren't you shipwrights together?"

"That was in the past."

"So you really are a traitor, I told this guy that I'd beat the crap out of the people who tried to kill Iceberg."

"I've got business with you to." I told them "Robin, What are you doing with these people? If you want out tell me why."

"You don't listen very well. I told the cook, the doctor and your sister goodbye, did they not tell you."

"I did." Chopper told her "but I don't understand why."

"I did it to achieve my goal, something I can't do with you." She told us "I will sacrifice anything to achieve it."

"Even stabbing your friends in the back." I told her.

Iceberg tried to say something but Robin pushed his head to the ground "Keep quiet."

"I'll have to stop you know, this mansion will be engulfed in flames in two minutes." Lucci explained "I would suggest you leave while you still can, if you manage to escape."

The members of CP9 blocked our path.

"Appears Robin wants to stay on the other side." Wyper remarked.

"They plan on eliminating the witnesses." Zoro said.

"So are we leaving without Robin?" Luffy asked me.

"Hell no." I told him.

"The fire will start soon." Lucci told us.

"I'll be going then." Robin said putting her hood up.

"Wait, I won't stand for this!" I yelled after her "You get back here now!"

"Goodbye."

"No! Robin!" I ran after her and slide under Blueno to try and stop her from getting out the window.

As soon as I got up he was already in front of me "The power of my legs is more than you can comprehend."

"That's what you think." I told the man "I saw a guy do that once, it wasn't perfect but now that I saw you do it maybe I can figure out how he did it."

"What foolishness, a weakling like you could never learn one of the arts, it took years of training for us to learn them, and you think you can master it in a few hours."

"I'll show you how strong I can be."

"**Tempest Kick!"** I felt two blades hit my back and I fell to the ground again.

I looked back and saw the kicks and broken the walls.

_It's a cutting technique._

"Will you idiots help me here!" I yelled back.

Zoro crossed blades with Kaku "Was that inspection the truth or was that a lie too?"

"No that was very much the truth, I took that job seriously."

"**Impact!" "Iron Body!" **

Wyper shot his dial off at Blueno but nothing happened.

"What the hell, that should have made you internal organs explode."

"**Finger Pistol!" **Wyper blocked the blow with his dial but instead of absorbing the impact the shell shattered from the blow.

"How?!"

"You've gone far enough!" Kalifa said getting in my way.

"Out of my way hag! **Whip Lash!**" The whip hit her lags but instead of knocking her over it just bounced off.

The window opened and Robin stepped to the edge.

"Don't go! We're not finished!"

"No. This conversation is over. Goodbye Handsome."

"**Gum-Gum Bazooka!"** Luffy's hands slammed into Kalifa "GO!"

"Thanks." I rolled past her and went to stop Robin "Don't turn your back to me Robin. You owe me too much. I made a promise, I said I'd take you out while we were in this city, I won't let you make me a liar. Please don't go! Don't leave me!"

Lucci grabbed my face "Enough boy, Nico Robin it's time for you to go."

And just like that she jumped out the window and left me behind.

"It's funny." Lucci laughed "A date? What you thought you'd be with her, she's too old for you brat. Love is such a useless emotion. Look, your love for Nico Robin will get you killed. Besides a woman like her doesn't deserve love."

"I'll get her back." I told the man "I refuse to give up now, not until I keep my promise!" I punched the man in the face and he dropped me "She's my responsibility that was the promise I made when she got on my ship, I took responsibility, and I won't shake that off now!"

I tried to run for the window but Lucci grabbed my ankle.

"Just shut up!" He threw me across the room and I crashed into the wall by Luffy, Zoro, and Wyper who all looked to be in bad shape as well.

"Try all you want pirate. You can't touch power like mine." Lucci said as his muscles grew larger "Let me show you just how weak you are!"

_A Devil Fruit!_

"The Cat-Cat Fruit Model: Leopard. The Zoan Fruits are the strongest when it comes to pure strength."

With one kick Lucci knocked the whole building over. The whole place started to crumble.

"Nami get away from the wall!" Wyper yelled.

Chopper ran by and pushed Nami out of the way but got himself caught in the falling rubble as a result.

"Chopper!"

Paulie tried to rescue Iceberg but only got caught by Lucci and the rest of CP9.

"Give it up Paulie."

"I…I really thought we were friends!"

"That's just it you thought."

Lucci went to bring his claws down on Paulie.

"LUCCI!" I slammed my shoulder into him knocking him off balance and saving Paulie.

"You insolent punk!" his entire right claw dug into my back and he picked me up with one hand.

"AHHH!"

"DIE YOU BRAT!"

"Steve!"

He slammed me into the floor and my head banged against the ground.

"GAH!"

"I'M SENDING YOU TO HELL!"

With that he threw me through the roof. I landed on the outer part of the building.

_It hurts to breath._

"DIE!"

Lucci's claw dug into my chest and he slammed me into the ground again this time he did it multiple times.

"JUST DROP DEAD!"

He picked me up to examine his work. I was barely alive yet somehow conscious.

"Why won't you die?"

"Screw…you." I said as I spat blood in his face.

"Suffer and bleed out on the ground!"

With that he threw me to the courtyard where I passed out.

_Why Robin?_

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	58. Chapter 58: The Truth

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

_Where'd he go?_

The pigeon guy came back down from roof but Steve wasn't with him. The suit he was wearing was soaked in rain and blood, just like his right arm.

"Where is he?!" Luffy asked.

"Dead on the ground."

"RAH!" Luffy charged at the man.

"I'll send you flying." With a flick of his wrist Lucci threw our captain across town.

"Luffy!"

Zoro slashed at the man but he blocked it with just an arm, and end up flung out the window just like Luffy had.

_What are these guys?_

I looked over and saw Nami trembling in fear and did the only thing I could, I fought back. I absorbed the fire in the room with a dial and shot it.

"**Flame Dial!"** The inferno blasted towards the cat man and singed his suit.

"**Tempest Kick!" ** He kicked the air and a shockwave formed only it wasn't aimed for me.

"Nami run!" I pushed the girl out a door and down to the ground. Then the blast hit me and threw me back through a series of walls.

"AGH!"

_Dammit Robin._

* * *

**Steve's POV**

_It's so hot…_

"Ugh." I opened my eyes and was surrounded by various men from Galley-La.

I saw Nami, Wyper, and Chopper were all on the ground and in bad shape. The mansion was on fire and I was covered in blood.

_Where are Luffy and Zoro?_

"Iceberg don't move yet."

"Leave I want to talk to him, alone."

I sat up while Iceberg took a seat across from me.

"First of all I'm sorry. I accused you of a crime you didn't commit; I'll make it up to you somehow." He told me.

"No, I tried to choke you I owe you the apology."

"I want to ask you something, Nico Robin did her attitude change once you got to this island?"

"Yeah, once we got here she disappeared. Then she tried to kill you and when three of the crew found her this morning she said she wasn't coming back." I told him "That's why I came here tonight, to find her and ask why she wanted to leave us behind. I still can't believe her; I don't want her to go."

"You really care about her don't you?" He asked me.

"Yeah, ever since I met her I started feeling that way."

"Then I'll tell you what I know and do the best to fill in the gaps in your knowledge" Iceberg explained "I expect that the government's plan started when you got to this island. I know her reason for doing this, but first I want to ask you to think about this, Nico Robin has the power to revive an ancient weapon, one that can destroy the world."

"So it comes back to those damn bricks only she can read."

"Exactly. Now her reason for leaving you behind."

"How do you know this?"

"It was right before you came into my room…

* * *

_**Iceberg's Flashback Start**_

"I won't give up those blueprints even if it kills me. I have to stop you; you can't keep searching for the Poneglyph and lending your assistance to the government."

"I'm not looking to resurrect the ancient weapon; I just want to know history."

"That is a useless sentiment. If your study of history put the whole world in danger then you should just die! You still want to chase history even after what happened to Ohara."

"What do you know?! You have no idea how much our lives were ruined by the World Government."

"Then why are you helping them if you hate them so much?!"

"Because, I want my wish to come true even if I have to give everything up for it. CP9 gave me two conditions, to have the assassination blamed on them, and then give myself up."

"You've been running for twenty years why give yourself up now."

"CP9 has permission to use a **Buster Call** against the Strawhats."

"Buster Call?"

"It is a military assault that summons five vice-admirals and ten warships. Once you're the target there is nothing more you can do. Normally only the admirals can do it. CP9 has been given permission by Aokiji. That is why I ran, in the past I never had anything to protect, but now I can't do that."

"Then your wish is?"

"I have shipmates who care about me. He saved my life when I wanted to die, when my dream had died. That's why my wish is for all nine of the Strawhats except me to leave this island safely. He has shown me too much kindness…too much love for me to drag him down with me."

"You don't care if you're forced to resurrect the weapon and doom the whole world."

"I don't care! I will do anything to save him! He…He's too important to me; he's the only person to make me feel this way. An emotion I haven't felt since I was just a little girl, love."

* * *

_**Iceberg's Flashback End**_

"And I couldn't pull the trigger. Out of all things she chose you over the lives of everyone in the world."

_For me…she really does care. Love?!_

"Even after almost giving up the blueprints I still can't blame her."

"HeHeHe!" I laughed as I fell to the ground "I'm so happy." I said with tears in my eyes "She really didn't betray us, and she really does fell the same."

I hopped up off the ground and made my way over to my sleeping friends.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to get the others and tell them about Robin."

"Wait Strawhat and the others are finished."

"Bull! Now that we know our true goal, that she did it to save us, our strength just tripled." I walked over to my passed out friends "Get up you three! Nami! Chopper! Wyper!"

* * *

**Rose's POV**

We were hiding in a shadowy corner at the train station. We had followed Robin to the only way out of town, the Sea Train. Sanji lit a cigarette in the in the small space we were hiding.

"Put that thing out you'll give us away." I told him.

"We need to find a way onboard." Sanji said.

"Are you even listening?"

"No matter how you look at it those guys are the only enemies. If she was just being taken away she'd be able to take them. Does she have a reason for not running? Or does she want me to save her?!"

"Knock it off Lover-boy."

"Let go of me! Where are you taking me?!"

_I know that voice._

"Usopp?"

"What the hell is he doing? So much for not causing trouble."

A group of four people of high importance boarded the train behind Robin, I recognized one of them.

"That's the guy who inspected the ship?"

"The doors on the train closed and steam blew out the top.

"The train will be leaving now!" the attendant said over the speaker.

"I wonder how the others are doing." Sanji said out load.

"Well we don't have time to wait for them so let's go!"

Sanji scribbled down a note for Nami telling her we were getting on the train after Robin. I jammed the note to the wall with one of my knives and he left I tiny Transponder snail with it and told her we'd be in touch.

_I'm starting to get low on knives I better make a mental note to get more._

"Let's go Sanji!"

"Coming!"

We ignored the protests of the train attendants and hopped aboard the Sea Train.

_Enies Lobby here we come. Just you wait Steve; I'll take care of this._

* * *

**AN **

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	59. Chapter 59: Aqua Laguna

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"Wait so Robin didn't betray us!?" Chopper said with a big smile.

"That's good." Nami said letting out a sigh.

"We just have to find the others and we can go get her." I told them.

"Gotcha, but where do we start looking?" Wyper asked.

"Wait a moment." Iceberg said "If you plan to go after Nico Robin you need to hurry. The Sea Train is leaving at Eleven o'clock. It's highly likely she will be aboard with the other government officials. After that the Sea Train will stop running and you won't be able to get a ship out in Aqua Laguna"

"This is bad! What time is it?!" Nami asked.

"It's 10:30." Iceberg told her.

"We have a half-hour!" Chopper yelled.

"Can you stop the train?" Wyper asked.

"Not when it's going to Enies Lobby I can't." Iceberg explained.

"Crap we have to hurry. Chopper I want you and Wyper to go find Luffy and Zoro. Nami you and I are going to the train station." I instructed.

"Hey you lot." Paulie said getting off the ground "You lend these folks a hand."

"But Paulie these are the people that tried to kill Iceberg. And what about Lucci and Kaku we can't find them."

"Shut up." Paulie told them "No they didn't. It's thanks to them that Iceberg is still alive. Don't worry about Lucci and Kaku. They're out of town for the day." He turned to me "Your need to get to the station right, I'll guide."

"Thanks."

Paulie set us up with some Yagara and showed Nami and I the fastest way to the station.

"Can't this thing go any faster? There are only twenty minutes left." I mumbled.

_Please just wait, don't go._

I heard the whistle from the train as we got closer.

_Come on. I have to make it._

"It's too early for them to be leaving." Nami said.

"With the passengers they have onboard it's safe to assume they got the time moved up." Paulie told her.

"I see the station." I told her.

Nami skidded to a stop right in front of the building and I jumped out and sprinted for the platform. As I got there I saw it pulling away.

_Please wait._

"Get off that train! Robin!"

_I'm too late…_

I sat there, defeated on the ground. I had lost. Nami was on the ground next to me crying like a baby.

"Paulie give me a boat."

"Never gonna happen. You can't go out in that you'd get yourself killed."

"Robin will die if I don't do something!"

"Move!" Paulie grabbed Nami and myself and pulled us away from the edge of the platform.

We ran up the stairs to avoid the wave that crashed into the platform and destroyed most of the objects on it.

"See. That wave broke the schedule board. That's never happened before. This is only the beginning of the storm to." Paulie explained how dangerous it was "The sea train can cut through it but not a ship."

"Excuse me is one of you named Nami?" A man asked walking up holding a note "We found this addressed to you."

"That would be me but how did you find something so small?"

"It was over here." The man said pointing to a large painted arrow and graffiti of Nami's name.

"What's it say?" I asked.

"Well the first half is a love letter from Sanji so we can skip that. The part we want is here, where all the marks from Rose taking the paper from him are. It says the two of them got on the Sea Train to go after Robin! It also says two other people got taken on, Usopp and some guy with funky blue hair."

"That must have been Franky."

"Here there was a transponder snail with the letter." The man said.

"I see it says they'll try and call us later." Nami said.

"Alright if those two are on the train we better find a way to catch up with them quickly. Let's go find Zoro and Luffy." I told the girl.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"It's cold." I groaned

"I can't get it to stay lit." Sanji complained playing with his lighter.

The door opened and a man riding inside was shocked to see us. Sanji kicked him back into the train. We headed in and were met with an even greater surprise.

"There are so many people in the last car!"

"What do you think you doing!" a bunch of men were now pointing pistols at us "That was no normal kick."

I looked around the train car to see what we were dealing with. I looked up and nearly screamed. They was a face on the roof of the car.

"Sanji!" I squeaked in terror.

"Hmm?"

"It's Jerry!" the men in the car cheered

_This guys some kind of freak!_

"I'm from a south blue island that specializes in Karate." The man said "I'm the boxing champion."

_How did that relate to the first part of the sentence?_

"Okay do some karate." Sanji told the man.

The man let off a flurry of punches and we jumped out of the way.

_How was that boxing or karate?_

"Excuse me miss." The tall man said.

"Umm yes?"

"I'm only say this because I'm a gentleman, but from up here I can see down you shirt…not that there's much to see." He commented.

"PREVERT!" I yelled punching the man in his creepy face.

_It's not my fault my boobs are tiny._

I looked over and saw Sanji jumping up and down try to look from above.

"Knock it off!"

"Right sorry." He said still peeking out the corner of his eye.

"My boxing will give me the advantage in this small space." Jerry said "Yoga Style!"

All he did was put his feet behind his head.

"That made your reach shorter!" Sanji pointed out rather loudly.

"This can't possibly be called boxing can it? I'm not even sure what kind of fighting that would be called." I remarked.

"**Drill kick!"** Jerry shot forward towards Sanji and me.

"That's not boxing at all!" I yelled.

"What a waste of time." Sanji said jumping into the air **"Brochette!"** Sanji's foot slammed into Jerry face and knocked him out cold.

I put a knife between each finger "Next?"

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Nami and I had regrouped with Chopper and Wyper and told them what happened with Sanji and Rose.

"So the cook and Usopp are on the train." Wyper said.

"That's great!" Chopper cheered.

"Yeah! But we can't leave till we find Zoro and Luffy." Nami told them

"This is the direction they flew so search here." Chopper told the men from Galley-La.

We split up to find our friends so that we could go after Robin.

"Luffy! Zoro!"

_Where are you idiot?_

Somehow we all ended up at a wall to the lower district. Even that old lady and the girl form the train house were there.

"Look Miss Pirate Lady!" the girl yelled "Over there between those buildings."

"Hmm."

_Is that Luffy?_

"Luffy." I said frustrated.

I trudged off to go and fish him out of his situation.

"Where are you going? You can't get to the backstreets now! Aqua Laguna is coming."

_That damn idiot._

I jumped off the staircase and made my way towards Luffy. I got as close as I could to Luffy without actually being on the same building as him.

_My whips can't reach he'll have to free himself._

"Luffy you idiot! What are you doing?!"

"Oh Steve!" He said form across the way "You see I got flung here by the guy with the pigeon. This is kinda inconvenient."

_Kinda?!_

"Can you be serious for once you idiot!" I yelled at him "This isn't the time for jokes. You were screwing around and Robin got taken away! She gave herself up for us. She went with them to protect us from the government. She's going to die!"

"So Robin was lying?"

"Yes!"

"That's good. Don't worry." He yelled "I won't let Robin die; I know she's important to you."

_Damn jerk, you're gonna make me cry saying things like that._

With strength that came from nowhere Luffy broke the buildings apart and freed himself.

He wrapped an arm around me "Let's go!"

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

"He's stuck Chopper he won't budge." I said trying to pull Zoro out of a chimney "Your fat ass got in how come it won't come out!"

"I don't know."

"I'll just blow you out." I mumbled.

"That could kill him!" Chopper yelled.

"So?"

"You're a monster!"

"Chopper are you holding one of my swords?" Zoro asked.

"Uhh yeah how did you know?"

"I just do, put it between my feet and step back." Zoro told him.

Chopper did as he was told and Zoro slashed the bricks to pieces using his feet as hands.

"**36 Caliber Phoenix!"**

"The Wave is coming!" I yelled.

"Let's go!" Chopper said grabbing my hand and Zoro's **"Jumping Point!"**

We landed on the staircase at the same time as Luffy and Steve.

"We made it." I said catching my breath from the near death experience.

The wave crashed into the staircase and started pulling us out. It was hard to breathe being churned around like that. Something wrapped around my waist and started pulling me towards the dry part of the stairs.

"Hurry and move!" Paulie yelled "The Bridge is falling apart.

We booked it and made it to dry land as the water licked at our heels. Once again we sat there catching our breath.

"Never again."

"Zoro were you down there to?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah he was stuck in a chimney." I explained.

"You're one to talk dumbass!" Steve yelled.

"Where are Sanji and Us…Sanji?" Luffy asked.

"Ah right, Zoro you listen up to." Steve told them

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	60. Chapter 60: Rocket Man

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"So you wanna go Luffy?" I asked after telling him what Iceberg had told me earlier.

"There's no choice, come on let's go! Rope guy lend us a boat! Or do you have a Sea Train that's good to."

"There's only one Sea Train in the whole worlds and that's the Puffing Tom." Paulie explained.

"Then give us a ship!" Luffy yelled.

"He already said no." Nami explained.

"Wait till morning when this subsides and I'll give you a ship then."

"We can't wait that long." I told him "That train was going to Enies Lobby, I know what happens to people who get sent there! The Gates of Justice are there. If I can't stop Robin from going through those she'll be sent to Impel Down or Marine Headquarters. Every second I spend here complaining to you she gets one step closer to that gate. If she steps through it I will never see her again, and you just want us to wait till tomorrow!"

"I'll remind you again, don't go to Enies Lobby. You're pirates too. Enies Lobby is the front door of the government. No matter who you are you can't get someone out of there successfully." Paulie said "Knowing what will happen do you still plan on waging a war?!"

"In that case…" Luffy said walking past me "We'll steal a ship."

"Then you'll have to go through me." Paulie said.

"Stop it now!" Kokoro yelled at the two "Paulie is right you aren't think clearly."

"You gonna get in our way to lady?" Wyper asked.

"Shut up and listen." She said "The only thing that can make it through Aqua Laguna is a Sea Train."

"That's great and all but there's only one." I said "We don't have a choice we need a ship."

"If you're that determined to put your lives on the line follow me, I'll take you to the Sea Train."

* * *

**Rose's POV**

In the few minutes since we got in the train we had cleared out the last two cars. In the second car we went to we found Usopp and the blue haired guy tied up.

"What are you two doing here?!" Usopp yelled.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing? What was your name again?" Sanji said.

"Wow real subtle." I mumbled as I fiddled with the chain holding the Transponder Snail down "We can call Nami with this."

"So are you guys Pirate friends?" The blue haired guy asked.

"Were" we corrected?

"Who are you?" Sanji asked the man.

"The feared man in water Seven, Franky."

"You bastard!" "You're the one that beat up Usopp!" Sanji and I yelled as we beat up on the man.

"Hey knock it off a lot has happened since then." Usopp said "Besides he saved the Merry." Then he got all depressed "Oh yeah Merry…"

"Hey now not the time to be getting all depressed." Franky told him "Can you get me out of this thing?"

"Why should I?" I asked "I'm not feeling very friendly right now!"

"You're taking advantage of me in my weakened state!" Franky yelled back "When I get outta here!"

"Will you two knock It off were gonna get caught!" Usopp said.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Kokoro had taken us to some old abandoned warehouse in the middle of town.

"This warehouse has been abandoned for twelve years, and the Sea Train hasn't been touched in eight. It might not run anymore."

_It better!_

"Wow! It's so cool!" Luffy yelled.

"No it's not." Kokoro explained "This is Rocket Man, the runaway Sea Train."

The door on the train opened up and Iceberg came out.

"So you're all still alive. Did you bring them here?" He asked Kokoro.

"What are you doing here?"

"I must've had the same idea as you. Can't let foolish children run around like that can we?" Iceberg laughed "It's all set, I loaded it up so use it."

"You got this ready for us?"

"You can celebrate after you get back. Rocket man is a failure, a prototype. You can't control the steam so you can't slow down. You'll easily lose control. I can't guarantee you can make it back."

"We leave as soon as Nami gets here!" Luffy yelled jumping onboard and falling flat on his face.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm hungry."

Nami came down into the Warehouse with some guys carrying a big bag.

"Nami let's go!"

"Oh wow another Sea Train."

"What's in the bag?" Luffy asked.

"Food and beer."

"Sorry we complained." Luffy and Zoro said stuffing their faces.

_Wow real gentlemanly._

"Hey Strawhat!" We looked to the entrance for a second time and saw the Franky Family was there.

"These guys again." We all grumbled.

"Please let us come with you!"

_Huh?_

"Our Bro Franky got taken to Enies Lobby. We want to go help him but we can't get through the storm."

"Luffy." I said waving the boy over.

He skipped over to me "What is it?"

"This is gonna be a big showdown. We need all the help we can get, let's bring them along."

"Okay, I was gonna let them come anyway."

"Please we're begging we just wanna save our Bro."

"Hurry up and get on." Luffy told them.

"Thank you! We don't have to get on thought we'll just attach our King Bulls to the train." They said as they ran out the door.

"Let's get going!" Kokoro said.

Everyone but Luffy climbed into the train and got set to leave.

_Idiot will fall into the water if I don't go up there._

I climbed up onto the front of the train and stood there with Luffy.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Let's go! We're gonna get everything back!"

"That's the spirit." I joked

_Just hang in there a little longer Robin_

"Luffy we're going to have to fight those guys from Iceberg's mansion again, I'm sure of it."

"Uh huh. We need to be stronger."

"You read my mind. I compared my memories of our fight with Kuro to that attack they used. I think I can pull it off if I try, but it won't be as fast as theirs. What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know." He said "but there has to be something, you're smart think!"

_Rubber can do a lot of things, but what…That's it!_

"Luffy have you ever heard of Blood Doping?"

"No."

"It's the process of holding blood, usually from a transfusion, and then reintroducing it to the body. It ups the oxygen in the blood and helps muscles do more work." I explained "Your body is rubber, you might be able to hold the blood back just by compressing parts of your body. I want you to try it out before we get to Enies Lobby. It probably won't kill you."

"What'd you mean probably?!"

"We can worry about that later here comes the end of the tunnel."

We hit the ramp at the end and the train flew into the air.

"We're flying!"

The Franky Family's boat was being pulled by two huge Bulls. They connected harpoons to the back of the train and got tugged along by us.

"Thanks for letting us come with you Strawhat!" The man at the front yelled.

"We'll be connecting to the track now, so speed will increase exponentially. Please brace yourself as to limit injury." Kokoro said over the speaker.

She wasn't kidding, the second we hit the track the train jolted forward and started getting faster and faster.

"Luffy can we go inside now!"

"Yeah I think that's a good idea!"

We went back in through a window and collapsed to the floor.

"Why did we do that?" I asked

"I thought that would be the good seat." He said.

We looked around the cabin and saw there were an awful lot of people inside it.

"Some of these things don't belong." Zoro pointed out.

That guy with the cowlick and Tilestone had come on with Paulie and the girls and the guy who had taken temporary leadership of the Franky Family were also inside. Not to mention the little girl and the rabbit.

Everyone introduced themselves and asked any questions they had.

"Paulie I'm not stupid." Lulu said "You know who the enemy is, and I'm pretty sure I do but why don't you give us the whole story."

"You probably figured it out since there nowhere to be found but Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, and Blueno tried to kill Iceberg."

"WHAT!"

"You didn't know!"

"So." Luffy said getting everyone's attention "Galley-La Franky Family, we may have been enemies in town but now our goals are the same."

"In the coming fight the strongest person there will be Lucci." I remarked and chopper wrapped bandages around my chest, the wounds from Lucci had started to ache again "Leave him to Luffy and myself. No one else engage him understood, he's mine."

"Where's the fun in that?" Wyper joked while fiddling with a bazooka her had borrowed from the Franky Family.

"The reason for this fight is to get back what was stolen from us." Zoro remarked "We don't leave till we back what's ours."

"We're all going to the same place." Luffy said "So there's no point in fighting separately."

We all had our hand in a circle "From now on we're allies."

"We need to do something about that wave." Kokoro said.

"It's ringing!" Nami yelled as she picked up the receiver "Hello?"

"Nam is that you!" Rose yelled over the snail "So listen my life is pretty complicated right now. Will you boys stop screaming?!"

Nami told me she was going to explain the situation our members on the other train while Luffy Zoro and I dealt with the impending tidal wave.

"What are you doing?"

"Just keep firing." Zoro told them

We went back to the front of the train.

"We have to make a hole." I told them.

"How much is three times 108?" Luffy asked.

"324" I told him.

"That's too long let's just do 300."

"Fine then." Zoro said.

"**Gum-Gum"**

"**Three Hundred Caliber"**

"**Whip"**

"**CANNON!"**

Our attack slammed into the wave and cut us a path through.

"Amazing!"

"Thank you, Thank you." I said waving.

We hopped back into the train and Nami called us over.

"It's Sanji and Rose."

"Howdy."

"That you little brother? Nami filled us in." Rose said.

"They've still got Robin but now we know the whole story." Sanji explained.

"Okay." Luffy said "Then go kick there asses."

"Don't do that!" I yelled "Sanji listen closely you are not to fight them wait for us."

"I won't" Sanji said as the snail hung itself up.

"Won't what? Won't fight or won't wait for us!" I yelled.

"Make the train go faster!" Luffy yelled.

"The train is already was past a safe speed." Kokoro explained "I don't know if we can even stop."

_Just a little farther._

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	61. Chapter 61: Hair

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"What the hell did you break the snail for? How can we call the others now!" I yelled.

"Oh, that was an accident." Sanji said.

"So much has happened since I left." Usopp added

"Robin doesn't know what happened between you, Luffy and Steve" Sanji pointed out "in order to ensure the safety of the nine of us, including you Usopp, Robin turned herself in."

"Wahhhh! That's so sad!" Franky cried.

"Robin is right here, within reach." I said "and we will save her."

"Super!" Franky yelled "Then I'll lend you a hand, if the government gets their hands on Nico Robin it will be bad for me as well." Then he started crying again "And that story was so moving. Let's go Long-Nose!"

"I'm not going." Usopp said.

"Huh?"

"This has nothing to do with me. You'll be going to the judicial island to fight the government; I don't want any part of that. Besides you'll be meeting up with Luffy and Steve so while I'm grateful for what Robin has done it's not my job to rescue her. I can't face the others after the things I said." Usopp said walking off "Bye."

"What the hell? Get back here!" Franky yelled.

"Usopp wait." I called after him.

"Let him go." Sanji instructed.

"I see them!" a marine yelled while peaking his head outside the train car.

"**Lead Star!"** The marine got hit by a small metal marble and fell off into the water.

"Who's there?!" Sanji yelled out.

We saw a figure standing on the car behind us "I was told you're going to rescue a defenseless maiden, so I shall assist you free of charge. You may call me Sogeking."

_This is not really happening._

"Ugh. Get over here." Sanji grumbled.

"I have no idea what's happening right now." Franky added.

"Just play along, don't hurt the poor guys feelings." I told him.

"Listen up let's talk about our plan." Sanji said "There are five cars left to this train and Robin could be inside any of them."

"So are you strong?" I asked Franky.

"I'm the fricken best. I'm felling especially Super~ this week."

_Why'd he put so much emphasis on the Super?_

"If we rescue Robin we'll win." Sanji said "but there are a lot of enemies between us and her. We need to avoid major fights, so that leaves us with one strategy. We'll search for Robin car by car and decouple the ones she's not in."

"Seems pretty straight forward. But why not just get them all in the back car and detach that one?" I remarked.

"Well…because…You're so smart Rose!" Sanji yelled hugging me.

"Please let go of me."

We made our way to the back car and opened the door.

"Hi!"

"We found them!"

"Hurry seal the door!" Sanji yelled.

"Wow you're hammering skills suck." Franky told Usopp…err, Sogeking.

"Hurry next car!" he yelled as he finished his work on the door.

We sprinted to the fifth car and pulled the pin and disengaged the lock, separating the cars from each other.

"Now that I think about it what about the others, they're riding on the same rail." I pointed out.

"They'll manage." Sanji said "I'd wager they might even like the appetizer."

"Two down." Franky said "Five to go."

We opened the door and headed into the next car. The men inside weren't too happy about us separating the cars.

"**Knife Shower!" **A hail of shimmering metal rained from the air and eviscerated mot of the men in the car.

"**Strong Right!"** Franky's fist detached from his hand and punched some of the men.

_How'd he do that!_

"Fire!" the men in the car shot rifles at us and Franky stepped in front and took the bullets.

"He's hit."

"That tickled." Franky said.

Franky picked up one of the booths and threw it at the men shooting him.

"What the hell are you?" Sanji said dumbfounded.

"Oh I'm a cyborg. I made out of steal and metal so that stung a little and I still bleed sometimes but bullets don't bother me."

"How peculiar." I said running my hand through my hair.

"OW!" Franky yelled as Usopp stuck a needle in his back "What I said before doesn't apply to my back! I had to do all the surgery myself so my hands couldn't reach back there. Oh and my stomach is sensitive to cold."

"Why's that?" Usopp asked.

"Because there's a fridge in it." He said moving his abs to reveal a fridge stocked with cola.

"How useful!" Sanji remarked.

"That would be great for a day at the beach." Usopp added.

"Can you boys focus?!" I yelled smacking all of them in the head "This isn't the time of chitchat let's keep moving."

_What's so special about being made out of metal?_

"Fourth car's next." Sanji said.

We entered the next car to find a kitchen and an odd looking man spouting weird mumbo jumbo about ramen.

"I'm Wanze!"

_Good for you?_

The man ate some flour and made a weird face and Ramen came out his nose.

"GROSS!"

"Yeah Uhh, Wanze were in a hurry so see ya." Sanji said stepping around the man.

"Wait! If you want to get through this car you'll have to go through me."

"You're gonna stand in our way?" Franky asked.

"If you want to free the prisoners you'll have to get passed my **Ramen Kenpo**."

I leaned over to Sanji "He's gonna fight us with noodles?"

Franky's left hand moved to reveal a gun of some kind. He shot at Wanze but the man didn't get hurt.

"That should have at least nicked you or something, but you didn't even twitch!"

"I almost died!" Wanze replied with a wheeze.

"What the hell!" Franky yelled.

"Don't let him work you up." Sanji told him "I'll handle this guy. I can't believe you'd call yourself a chef."

"You two get to the next car Sanji and I can handle this." I told them.

Wanze spit more Ramen out of his nose. When it hit the wall it exploded into more Ramen.

"You're so gross!" I yelled slashing at the man but he skated around the attack.

"Are right we'll leave this to you two." Usopp and Franky said leaving the car.

"They got away. No matter the man in the next car, Nero, is a member of CP9. He may be new but he loves to kill." Wanze said.

"**Flanchet Shoot!" **Sanji kicked at the man but missed again.

Wanze slid down the wall and his skates lit on fire **"Ramen Kenpo: Noodle Slicer!"**

"The skates are on fire!" I yelled out

"**Fire Skate!"** we ducked under the midair leg sweep and Wanze crashed into the dishes on the counter.

"How?"

"I kicked you twelve times while avoiding your attack" Sanji told him.

"And I cut at your arm." I told him.

"You're both secretly strong." Wanze said.

"No you just weak." We deadpanned.

"Then I'll have to show you why I was selected for this job." Wanze said as he surrounded himself with Ramen.

"What is he doing now?" I wondered aloud.

"**Ramen Kenpo Secret technique: Men's Formal Suit!"** Wanze was now sporting Ramen battle armor.

_This is not really happening. What has become of my life, every second gets weirder and weirder. _

"How dare you waste food like that?" Sanji told him "I'll make sure you eat your dinner."

"Being in the same breathing room and this thing makes me feel insecure." I mumbled.

Wanze ran forward and punched but when Sanji tried to kick him away he just got stuck in the noodles and ended up being thrown around the car. The arm slammed into me and sent me across the room. Sanji broke free and tried to attack the only non-noodled point, Wanze's head, and got shot by the Ramen form Wanze's nose.

_Sanji can't touch him as long as he's inside that suit. I guess it's up to me._

I saw the knives on the counter next to me and picked them up, after all a dagger isn't built to cut food.

"**Ramen Spank!"**

I slid under the swing and with a flick of my wrist cut off the whole arm with the knives. I caught the falling noodles on a plate.

"It's impolite to let food hit the floor." I said with a smile "These knives are so pretty I feel bad using them to cut your nose noodles."

Wanze attacked with a wave of slaps that I jumped over.

"Bratty girl how dare you touch my knives!"

"I didn't realize I had been so rude. Please allow me to make up for it by showing you a how a blade-master handles her knives."

He swung more of that nasty Ramen at me and I cut it apart chunk by chunk until the only the body was left.

"You made me look like an onion." Wanze complained.

"I thought you said you were unbeatable." I told the man.

"**Noodle Nail Knockout!" **Wanze kicked forward at me.

"**Grain Shank!" **I cut the legs off in one swing.

"**Ramen Beam!"**

I ducked under the flying noodles but something clipped my beautiful hair. I slowly moved my hand back and felt my locks.

"AHHHH! You got your snot noodle in my hair!" I started having a panic attack "This can't be happening! This is so gross! My hair!"

"Rose take a breath." Sanji said.

"This can't be happening. My hair can't have been sullied by this freak. Happy place, happy place!"

_Why'd it have to be my hair, it could have been anyplace else._

"Rose you need to relax."

I started drowning Sanji out and crying "Mama, they ruined your hair…my beautiful hair."

* * *

_**Flashback Start**_

"What are you crying for Rose?"

"Luffy and Steve were making fun of my hair."

"Why?"

"They said it's blue and that looks dumb."

"That's not as bad as my hair, look mines green."

"Hey Mama? How come if daddy and Steve have red hair and you have green hair why is mine blue?"

"Oh well my hair wasn't always this lime green color it is now. It used to be the pretty aqua blue yours is."

"Why is it green now?"

"Well after I ate the Dryad-Dryad Fruit it turned that color. Sometimes I miss have that blue hair."

"You do?"

"Yeah my mom had blue hair too. I miss having it."

"Well you can always look at mine to remember." I told her "Since this hair so important to you I'll make sure to keep it looking pretty for you! I'll make sure it stays clean and is long and flowing so you can remember when you had it."

* * *

_**Flashback End**_

"Rose please stop crying, I took care of that guy."

"My hair."

"I see. Come here." Sanji said picking me up off the floor "We can wash it in the sink."

Sanji turned on the water and washed my hair because I was too busy acting like a baby to do it myself.

"There all clean." He said drying his hands.

"Thank you." I said wiping my eyes off "Sorry about the way I acted."

"It's fine, I remember you saying that your hair was very important to you."

"You remembered. That was before we entered the Grande Line." I said surprised.

"I always remember the things that are important to a lady." Sanji said as he made heart faces and tried hugging me.

"And now you've ruined what was a touching moment."

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

"What are you doing?" one of those girls from the Franky family asked me.

"I'm turning you pathetic Bazooka into a piece of real firepower." I said screwing a nozzle onto the front "I left mine in the hotel back on the island so this will work fine if not better as my new **Burn Bazooka.**"

"Why put a nozzle on it you can't get the cannon ball out that way." Zambai said.

"Watch" I said turning the outer ring on the nozzle making it big enough to get a ball out of "See this things shaping up to be better than the one back at the hotel."

"Wow you're almost as good as Big Bro."

_Is that a compliment?_

I looked around the room and saw everyone else had changed outfits like I had a few minutes ago. Nami had a jacket on, Luffy had changed to black shorts and Steve had changed out his red flannel for a green one. Even Chopper had put on a jacket and Zoro was wearing a yellow shirt. I had put on gray cargo pants and a long sleeve orange long sleeve thermal with a popped collar. I had to cut holes for my wings but I still looked good.

"Don't stuff meat in your pockets Luffy!"

The other kept arguing as I screwed a scope onto the side of the bazooka.

"Hey there's another Train in front of us." Luffy yelled.

"Did we catch up already?" Zoro asked

"It's too soon for that." The old lady said.

We all headed up to the roof to inspect this new sight. It was just two cars hanging on the track. Luffy flew over and checked it out. He sent us a signal saying that no one we needed was inside.

"We'll dismantle it before we hit it." The Franky Family said.

"No you won't." I told the "Leave this to me."

"You're not gonna use that thing are you?" Steve asked.

"What about the people inside." Zoro said "They don't need to get disintegrated by that gun of yours."

"Don't worry. I'll only miss them by a hair."

The car got closer and closer; I turned the ring and shrink the nozzle as small as it would go.

"**Burn Bazooka: Precision Saw!"**

The laser cut through the car right down the center, and just like I said I missed by a hair. Worse case I hit a man's hat. Luffy hopped back on as we drove past the wreckage.

"That was so cool, how'd you do that?!" Luffy begged.

"Just Shandorian ingenuity and elbow grease." I looked forward and saw the track was surrounded by Dead Sea Kings "Something's coming."

"There's someone on the track." Zambai yelled out "That's T-Bone; he's a famous Marine who can cut ships in two."

"Leave it to Wyper." Steve told them.

"Get me a cannon ball." I yelled.

Someone dropped one into my hand in I loaded the bazooka.

"Last chance old man, get out of the way or die!"

"This is a path of justice. I'll cut you in half."

"So be it, but we need to get passed."

"You will stop now!" The man yelled

"**Burn Bazooka: Wide Burst!"**

The shot collided with the man and exploded sending him flying off into the water.

"Wow he beat T-Bone."

"That guy came from the cars. He ran all this way trying to catch up to the train. That's impressive."

I climbed back inside to get out of the rain.

"We're almost there." Luffy said "I can't wait to kick that pigeon guy ass!"

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	62. Chapter 62: Enies Lobby

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"So?" I said "How long are we gonna stand there with the door wide open?"

We had been standing there while those guys from the government stared at us.

_At least they we kind enough to let me wash my hair. Not sure why though._

The roof suddenly caved in and Franky and another man fell down from the roof.

"So these are the people who took Robin." Sanji pointed out.

"Be careful." Franky told us "they have some powerful moves."

One of the government guys attacked his own man and threw him off the train.

"That wasn't nice." I said.

"If you're here for Nico Robin give up now. Her problem is beyond your understanding. There are some people who are better off dead."

"And your point is?" Sanji asked him.

"That her existence is a sin. Her death will bring peace to the world. She has no choice but to accept death."

"Bull!" Sanji yelled as he kicked at the man.

"It'll take us a while but we'll harvest all of her knowledge and experience, in a horrible manner."

"In your dreams asshole!" I threw a knife at the man but he swatted it off like it was nothing.

The door on the other side of the car opened and Robin walked into the room.

"Robin~!" Sanji cooed

Usopp was picked up and throw across the room.

"What was that for?"

"Do you fools not understand words?"

"Franky cut the third car off!" Usopp yelled and threw a smoke bomb of some kind; next he grabbed Robin and made a run for it.

"Genius!"

Franky broke the lock and our train car drifted away from theirs!

"That was too easy." Sanji said.

"Yeah they strong even if we separated the cars they should have been able to stop us." Franky added.

The car lurched as a series of thorn whips latched to the outer parts.

"What the hell!"

"I can cut them." I said.

The man with funny hair grabbed the whips and pulled our car into theirs.

"That smokescreen was a dumb idea." He said entering our car and holding the two together.

"Don't kill the Strawhats, that's the deal."

"We need to separate these." Sanji told the man as he kicked him.

"**Iron Body."**

Sanji kicked the man but he wasn't hurt.

"What the hell."

"It's how they fight!" Franky yelled.

"Fine! **Concasse!**"

Sanji's shoe collided with the man's face, that time he flinched. The man's teammates looked surprised at the fact that the kick had hurt the man.

"Robin wait!"

"**Ocho Fleur: Clutch!" **Robin bent Usopp over backwards and he fell down in pain.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled.

"Stay out of my business." Robin told me.

"Pay attention!" A man who I recognized as the one who inspected the ship ran up and kicked Sanji across the room and into me.

_Ow~_

"What are you idiots doing?!" Franky yelled and rammed the side of the train knocking it into the other set of cars "Escape now!"

"Franky!"

"Take Nico Robin and meet up with your friends! Find a way back to town, I'll be fine!"

"Stop it I don't want to escape!" Robin yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Sanji yelled "We know what's going on. Even if there was a **Buster Call** we can handle it. Why won't you just come with us?"

"The **Buster Call **is the problem." A voice said from behind us.

I turned and found Blueno in the air behind me.

"How'd you..?" I tried to slit the man's throat but my knife just slid around his skin.

"**Tempest Kick!"**

"AHH!"

"Rose! **Flanchet!"**

"**Finger Pistol."**

I looked up to see Sanji and Usopp fall to the floor and the man's index finger covered in blood.

_He did that with one finger!_

"Enough!" Robin said walking up to the man "I'm not trying to run. Let's just go."

"Robin!" Usopp yelled "You're still hiding something aren't you, that's fine but when it comes to leaving a pirate crew you can't go without the captain's permission so have faith in Steve and Luffy."

The government agent kicked Usopp away like you would a tin can on the street. Robin turned her back to us and walked through the hole in space that Blueno had come in through.

"Robin wait!"

"It's no use." The man said "Nico Robin won't break her promise."

"How can you say things like that?" I yelled back.

"In the past there was a **Buster Call **invoked on a small island. The events there left no one alive, except for one person. A young Nico Robin. Those seeds of terror still exist in her heart." Blueno explained "That is what caused her to turn on you."

"Is that true?" I whisper.

"You scumbag!" Sanji yelled.

"For justice, that girl has my deepest sympathies."

"Don't screw with me!" Sanji yelled kicking the air where Blueno had just been "Damn it."

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"We do what Franky said." Sanji explained taking a seat on the floor "We regroup with the others."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"It's the frog!" Luffy yelled.

"What?"

"The frog is on the track!"

"Yokozuna!"

"Move it frog! We're gonna hit you!" Luffy yelled.

I looked out the window in time to see that damn frog smash the front of the train and knock us off the track.

"What the hell!"

"Damn frog!" Zoro yelled.

"We had almost caught up to Sanji." Nami added.

"I'm gonna beat that frog into submission." I grumbled going out to the car Luffy was on "Why didn't you push it out of the way dumbass?"

"He's strong, and I thought he'd move."

"That's just it you thought!" I said taking out one of my whips "Get over here frog!"

"Yokozuna come here a sec." Kokoro said leaning out the window.

"Gero!"

"listen you've been challenging the Sea Train so you can train and get stronger right?" the old lady asked the frog, he appeared to answer yes "You don't want anyone else to get taken away like Tom was do ya'. Well Franky's been taken and we're going after him. Do you want to come with us?"

"Gero!"

"Alright, add one more to the list of comrades!" The old lady yelled.

"I picked up the current!" Nami yelled.

"Then let's pick up the rest of the Franky Family and get moving!" I yelled.

"We're almost there!" Luffy cheered.

"I'm coming Robin."

* * *

We managed to meet back up with The Franky Family and they had some special guest with them.

"Hey Luffy! Steve!"

"Sanji, Rose, who's that guy?"

We reconnected to The Franky Family's King Bulls and Sanji, Rose and there sidekick climbed into the train.

"Who's that?" I asked Rose pointing to her long nosed friend.

"Isn't it obvious? That would be Usopp's new alter ego, Sogeking."

"Oh wow he's a hero!" Luffy yelled "you can tell because he's got a cape. All heroes have capes."

"Can I have your autograph?" Chopper begged.

_Idiots. Have your fun now before we have to get serious._

"Hey." Sanji said walking up to me "We have to take. Listen Up!"

Sanji filled us in on the most recent developments. That CP9 was using Robin's fear of the **Buster Call** to scare her into submission.

"I'm not trying to make excuses but even after all this Robin might still not want to leave with us." Sanji said.

"I don't care!" Luffy, Chopper and I yelled.

"Robin's stupid!" Luffy yelled on his own.

"Shut up!" Nami said slapping him in the back of the head "She's just worried about us."

"I don't care about any of that." I told them "Robin is all that matters. Robin doesn't want to die and I don't want her to die so we're gonna save her. That's that."

"Come here!" Paulie yelled "This is a map I drew from memory. This is what Enies Lobby looks like."

There were a few big towers and a ton of gates and the whole island was mostly a straight line.

"What's that black stuff?" Luffy asked.

"It's the waterfall. You'll see it when we get closer. It's a straight shot to the Gates of Justice. We can charge the island all we want." Paulie explained "but you Strawhats are the only ones who stand a chance against CP9, I've seen how strong you are. SO you guys let us go in first. Wait five minutes and then charge in with Rocket Man."

"The rest of us will charge in and open the main gate." Zambai added "No matter how many of us fall you just keep going. We have about sixty people. The have a few thousand. Avoid unnecessary fight and focus on CP9."

"Do you understand Luffy?" I asked.

"Yeah I got it."

_Sure you do._

"Take a look at the sky behind the island." Kokoro announced "Those are the Gates of Justice"

"They're huge!"

"They never completely open. Only the Marines know how to open and close them. It's like the Red-head said, if you want to rescue your friends you have to do it before they step through the gate."

"Psst, Luffy." I whispered "You ready to go."

"Yep."

Luffy and I climbed the roof of the train and he got ready to send us over to the main island.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Let's go."

"**Gum-Gum Rocket!"**

Luffy shot us off the train and to the top of the Iron Gate and then to the spire of the first stone gate.

"Wow! The island's floating!" Luffy said in wonder.

"It certainly is visually pleasing." I remarked as a bullet whizzed past my arm "Let's get closer."

We jumped of the gate and landed on the ground nearby and started our run to the Gates of Justice.

"Stop!" Do you two know where you are?"

Luffy jumped up and kicked the men asking us questions out of the way "Where is Robin?"

I pulled out my whips and swung them around at took out some of the men "WHERE IS ROBIN?!"

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	63. Chapter 63: The March

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"Excuse me, coming through!" Luffy yelled as we fought our way through dozens of guards.

"Asking won't make them move." I explained.

Luffy jumped on a man's back and wrapped his arms and legs around the other man's.

"**Gum-Gum Allied Robot!"**

"Get off that guy!" I yelled.

"**Robo Punch!" **Luffy punched a few of the man's allies and jumped off when some marines tried to stab him.

Some men slashed at me but I easily sidestepped them **"Whip Lash!"** I tripped the men and Luffy and I kept moving forward.

Luffy jumped over some men and grabbed the handles of the gate in front of us.

"Sorry we have to keep going." Luffy explained "But our friends will be by later."

Luffy threw the two of us over the gate and into the main part of the island. We landed in an open street surrounded by soldiers.

"Give up you're surrounded."

"Could have picked a better landing zone Luffy." I mumbled.

"Move you're in our way." Luffy told them.

"Let's just make them move." I instructed **"Whip Crush!"** I lammed my whips in a vertical line and took out a number of men blocking our way.

"**Gum-Gum Stamp!" **Luffy kicked more of the men out of our way.

I ducked under a few sword swings and jumped into the air. I did a cartwheel midair and attacked again **"Whip Cyclone!"**

I felt a strange pang in my chest that gave me a strange felling that Robin was in danger so I knew we had to move faster.

"Luffy hurry it up!"

Luffy spun his body and attacked more of the men **"Gum-Gum Storm!"**

My whips wrapped around a man's shoulders **"Whip Tornado!" **I spun around threw the man into his allies knocking over a couple dozen.

I knocked in the door of a nearby building and Luffy went inside it for some reason.

"Stick together dumbass!"

I struck down a few more men that tried to ambush me when I saw Luffy's leg burst out of the building he had gone into. He knocked over one of the walls and started attacking it and sending huge chunks of rubble falling down towards me.

"I'm still down here!"

I pushed my way through the crowd to avoid the trap Luffy had just created. Luckily I wasn't squished and Luffy ran past me and we kept moving deeper into the island.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"It's been five minutes let's go."

"Zoro you're going to have to cut down the fence." I explained.

"I'll get it done." He said going to the top of the train.

A few seconds passed and we got closer and closer to the island.

"We have a problem. Hang on." Kokoro said over the loudspeaker.

"What's the matter you shitty swordsman?" Sanji said leaning out the window.

"The gate's closed." He explained.

"We're gonna crash!" "What'd we do, what'd we do!" "Turn the train around."

"Don't worry we can still get passed." Zoro said "Frog, push down the fence."

Yokozuna slapped the fence and the metal bent and curved.

"You're making a ramp?!" I yelled.

We hit the ramp at such a speed that we got launched into the air and flew over the gate.

"We're flying." I observed.

"We're gonna die!" Usopp yelled.

"Hey dumbass how are we gonna land?" Wyper asked.

"We'll leave it to luck."

"LUCK?!"  
As we reached our maximum height we started to descend. We fell at such at such and arc that we flew through the second gate. There was a giant on the other side of the second gate and Rocket Man slammed into his back and knocked him to the ground. The train kept going and we had a rough landing but we were all still in one piece.

"No point in sitting around let's get moving." Zoro said as he exited the train.

I climbed out one of the windows with Sanji and Wyper not very far behind. We came across a group of men and made quick work of them vastly lowering the forces standing in our way.

"Think we should have greeted them?" Zoro asked.

"That's pointless." Sanji told him.

"That and it's too late to wake them up and say hello." I joked.

The Franky Family and Galley-La were happy to see we had made it to land and were ready to fight CP9.

"It's the Strawhat underling Roronoa Zoro." One of the marines commented.

"Heh they called him underling." Sanji laughed.

"Better then nameless pirate A." Zoro countered.

"Pirate A, Underling can we get a move on." Wyper said.

"Who you calling Pirate A, pirate B!" "I'll show you an underling." Zoro and Sanji said respectively.

The three of them started hurling petty nicknames at each other until I was able to break them up.

"Now's not really the time." I told them.

_Bunch of grown men acting like children, I didn't come here to be a babysitter._

The marines found Chopper and Usopp trying to get out of the train and decided that there must be more 'criminals' inside.

"Blow the whole thing to bits!"

"Don't Nami's still inside!" Sanji yelled.

A rocket hit the train and it shook from the explosion but the soldiers stopped shooting when they saw Kokoro and Chimney atop the train.

"I'm just an old lady." "And I'm a little girl with a small animal." The two explained.

"Those scumbags took an old woman and a child hostage, what fiends." The Marines said providing commentary.

A cloud appeared above the heads of the Marines and Nami came out of the train.

"Nami's okay!" Sanji yelled.

"I'll show you the power of the weather." Nami told them **"Thunder Bolt Tempo!"**

The cloud exploded in an eruption of lightning. And fried most of the marines in an instant. Since Nami wasn't paying attention the pain was also inflicted on Zoro, Sanji, Wyper and I.

"What the hell Nami you hit us to!" Zoro yelled.

"I thought we were friends." I cried "Now my hairs all frizzy."

Nami and Chopper dragged Sogeking over to us.

"Where are the two runaways?" Zoro asked.

"Haven't seen them." Nami said "But the island isn't small so we need to get searching."

A building further into the island exploded and we all knew what we had to do now.

"Let's go there."

One of those giant fish monsters came flying past us and Paulie told us to get onboard. We climbed the ropes he threw down and took a seat on the monsters back.

"Someone hold me!" I yelled in sheer terror.

_It's the fastest way but it's also the scariest._

"I'll hold you Rose." Sanji swooned.

"It was a figure of speech!" I yelled.

"The dogs are trying to climb on!" Chopper yelled.

Wyper was trying to shoot them away but the dogs were outrunning the blasts.

Paulie handed Sanji the ropes and said he'd take care of it "when you see those guys, tell them they're fired."

"Sure." Zoro told him.

Paulie jumped off the Bull and took out half the dogs by himself. The other two foremen came to his aid and took out the rest.

"They're so strong!" Chopper said in awe.

"It's hard to believe they're just shipwrights." I told him.

The Bulls, Sodom and Gomorrah, kept rampaging and taking us closer to Luffy and my brother.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"It's a dead end we have to go up!" Luffy yelled.

Luffy rocketed us to the top to the final gate and we pulled ourselves up to the roof.

"This is the last building, huh?" Luffy commented.

Even though we had made it to the final building there was no way over to the other side, there was a gorge in the way.

"How do we get over there?" I thought out loud.

_It looks too far to jump, even for Luffy._

"**Air Door."**

One of the CP9 members I had seen in Iceberg's mansion, Blueno, appeared out of thin air.

"Holy cow it's a cow!" Luffy yelled.

"I figured the damage had been more than five people." Blue said to himself "This is certainly unheard of, a pirate walking right up to the front door of the Government. How long are you going to struggle?" He asked.

"Until I die." Luffy and I both answered.

"How noble." The man joked.

"Robin's in the building behind you isn't she." I said "Get out of my way."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**There probably won't be any updates this weekend because I have a family event, Sorry.**


	64. Chapter 64: Next Level

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

We were riding these two giant fish monsters to try and catch up with Steve and Luffy. Chopper was telling us their life story as we rode.

"By the way where is that masked guy that was riding with us? He says" Chopper translated.

We all turned around to find that our long nosed pal wasn't on board.

"Crap!"

"Where is that idiot?" Nami asked.

"He probably fell off." I told her.

"Thinking back I don't know if he ever got on." Rose said.

"He probably ran away." Zoro said "We can't go back for him he'll have to catch up on his own."

"But he's not Luffy and the island is full of guards!" Nami pointed out.

"What's your point?" Zoro asked "he can take care of himself. We've all gotten stronger with each island we've visited, him included. He's escaped death more time than the average person. He'll be fine."

Someone shot at our bull and did a pretty big number on it.

"We're going down!" Sanji yelled.

"This is bad" Chopper started flailing about "I have to treat him."

"Jump over here!" Zambai called out "You can't hesitate to leave us behind. That mortar hit him in the heart you can't help him. If you stop moving now who's gonna rescue our friends?"

_He's right. It'd take a miracle to keep moving after a blast like that._

"He wants us to go!" Chopper yelled.

"Then let's move." Zoro yelled jumping over to the other bull.

"Hang on." I said picking up Chopper and jumping over to the next form of transportation.

"Let's keep going." I said.

More mortar fire rained down and we were forced to change our route to avoid getting killed on the way to Luffy and Steve.

"Umm Hello?" Nami said answering the mini snail.

"Hey it's us."

"Kokoro?"

"Listen there's something important I forgot to mention so listen up."

She explained that in order to lower the drawbridge over to the Tower of Law we needed to pull two levers, each in a different tower.

"Hey Pirate Lady! It's me, Chimney." The little girl said over the phone "I saw those two guys who ran off climb up to the top of the courthouse. It looks like there's a fight going on up there."

"Well now we know where we need to go." Rose said.

"You guys head to the courthouse to meet up with Strawhat and Torturer, leave the bridge to us."

Giant metal balls and chains came out of know where and crushed our new bull.

"Shit!"

"Who threw those?"

"The guards from before are catching up!" Sanji yelled.

"We're gonna get surrounded!" I yelled firing the bazooka "Someone do something!"

"Look at the roof!" Rose yelled "Those two idiots already started a fight!"

Rubble was falling off the roof as Steve and Luffy battled some guy with Blueno.

"Gomorrah says to hang on!" Chopper yelled.

The fish got back up and charged forward, only to slam into a wall.

"He can't see!" Chopper yelled.

At this point the bull was nothing more than a monster on a rampage, slamming into every wall in its path and running down men in the street.

"Stop it you can't go on like this!"

"He says he has to." Chopper told them "he made a promise to make sure we got there!"

"We're gonna hit a dead end!" Nami yelled.

"What dead end?" Zoro asked "Do you two see a dead end?"

"Nope." "Nah." Sanji and I told him.

We jumped off the back of the fish and blew the wall down to clear a path for our injured friend.

"We made it to the courthouse." Nami said.

"Thanks fish monster!" Rose yelled as we moved into the building.

"We need to get to the roof and meet with the other two." Zoro explained "They were only fighting the horned buy but still what's to stop the others from showing up."

As we were talking another steel ball came at us but the frog jumped in front and blocked it no problem.

"We'll leave this to you." Sanji said dragging back the man who threw the ball "Looks like we'll have to deal with these guys in there to."

Zoro cut a hole in the bottom of the door and we headed inside.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"The World Government has over 170 countries affiliated with it. By attacking this place you've revolted against all of them. You'll be marked criminals, hunted down, and killed, painfully. You have ten members at best, that's a weak power."

"I told you to move." I said.

"Why should I, weather I move or not you're going to be killed."

"Okay, then get out of the way." Luffy said doing some stretches.

"It's not like you can fight me. The altercation at the mansion proved that we are on vastly different levels."

"Something tells me this time will be different." I said.

"I won't lose!" Luffy yelled charging forwards and twisting his arm **"Gum-Gum"**

"**Iron Body."**

"**RIFLE!"** Luffy's fist slammed into Blueno's chest and did actual damage **"Gatling!" **Luffy let off a flurry of punches but Blueno used his speed move to avoid them.

"You're right there! **Whip Crush!" ** I flicked my wrist and slammed Blueno into the pillar next to me "It's only been a few hours but you seem so much slower. Listen good, I don't give a crap about the ways of the government, I'm here for Robin and that's it."

Blueno pulled himself out of the rubble "I underestimated you."  
"That's your own fault." Luffy said coming up next to me.

"**Moon Walk!"**

I ducked under the forward attack and wrapped my whip around the man's ankle **"Whip Tornado!"** I brought Blueno up and slammed him into the ground "don't get focused on trying to find a way around Luffy's Rubber body and forget I'm here."

"**Gum-Gum Stamp!"** Luffy foot slammed into the man on the ground and did further damage.

"**Tempest Kick!"** I wave passed between Luffy and I splitting us up.

"**Iron Body: Wheel!" **Blueno started cartwheeling towards me and I back peddled away from the assault when he suddenly fell through the floor and was under Luffy.

He pulled Luffy into the floor and Luffy got stuck in stone.

"**Revolving Door!" **Luffy eyes started to spinning while the rest of his head remained stationary.

_A Devil Fruit._

"Which ways the front?!" Luffy yelled.

"**Whip Jetstream!" **I barely missed Blueno and transitioned to another attack **"Whip Hurricane!"** I let out a flurry of rapid strikes against the man's body and battered him back.

"Luffy calm down! Stop yelling and take a breath you're not gonna die."

"Can't say the same for you. **Finger Pistol!**" I felt a puncture in my side but I was able to kick Blueno back "Crap."

"**Gum-Gum Pistol!**" Luffy pulled himself out of the hole in the floor and patted his face "It stopped spinning.

"Every door must open and close they say." I joked.

Luffy and I immediately jumped back to avoid Blueno falling from the sky like a meteor.

"**Whip Hurricane!" "Gum-Gum Gatling!"**

Luffy and I attacked as fast as me could but we only managed to knock Blueno back a few spaces.

"It's no good." Luffy said "The way we are now will only get people killed."

"Then let's go to the next level." I told him "Since I almost died against Aokiji I realized I'm not a strong as the people who might stand in my way. I have people I care about, people who can't protect themselves. It's our job to protect them. Right Luffy."

"Right. It's either get strong or lose everyone I care about." He seconded.

"What are you planning to do?" Blueno asked.

"I've thought of a way to make sure Luffy fights with all his power. As for me, I'm just a man. No Devil Fruit Powers or anything like that. So I'll have to do the only thing I can. Learn more and more powerful moves to fight with."

"Whatever it takes not to lose anyone!"

Luffy did exactly what we had practiced on the train and compressed his legs and his body began to steam and I kicked the floor a few times and got into a rhythm and put my whips back in my belt.

"You better get one last look at us." I joked "Because after this even you can't keep up."

"**Second Gear!"**

"I'm real glad I met you." I told the man "because you filled in the gaps in a technique I've been trying to learn for months."

"Try at hit me all you want but you can't catch me **Shave.**" Blueno faded out into the air and I made my move.

"**Shave Lock!" **I ran and caught up to Blueno and pinned his arms behind his head and held him in place "Luffy!"

"**Jet Pistol!"**

Luffy's fist slammed into Blueno faster than the eye could keep up.

"**Shave Sweep!" **I tripped Blueno up with a kick and he face planted.

"**Air Door!" **Blueno slipped into the air and disappeared.

"He disappeared." Luffy said.

"Stay alert." The air behind us opened up and I reached back and grabbed Blueno's face **"Shattering Grip."**

I threw Blueno to the ground "I already learned** Shave**; maybe I can learn the rest of your six powers. Let's just end this Luffy."

"**Jet…" "Shave…"**

"**Bazooka!" "Ballista!"**

Mine and Luffy's hands slammed into Blueno and he slid back but didn't fall.

"He's tough. Time to take it even higher." Luffy said biting his thumb. **"Gear…"**

Blueno coughed and fell to the ground and Luffy and I caught our breath.

"He was tough I'm out of breath." Luffy said eating a meat shank in his pocket.

"Don't keep food in your pockets." I said climbing up onto a spire.

"What are you doing?"

"Shut up and eat Luffy." I told him.

I stared across the gap and looked at the Tower of Law.

"ROBIN~! I CAME TO SAVE YOU!" I waited a few more seconds "I know you can hear me!"

One of the windows on the tower broke and someone slammed into the fence and knocked it over.

_What the hell is going on?_

"Hey Robin!" I said waving to the woman across the gap.

"Franky's over there to." Luffy said "Wait here. I think I can make the jump." Luffy said running back.

"Stop!" Robin yelled "I…I told you I'm not coming back. Go away! I don't want to see your face ever again!"

_I know that's a lie. Iceberg said you did this out of compassion, not to get run away from me._

"I didn't ask you to come save me. I just want to die!"

_I don't want you to._

I stared Robin down from across the gap as Luffy came to my side and CP9 assembled across the gap at the Tower of Law. There were three members that we didn't meet at the mansion but I paid them no mind.

"You want to die?!" I asked.

"Yes!"

"Robin is death really what you want?! You really want to leave me behind?!" I asked "We already came all the way here to get you. So if you want to die that bad you can do it after we rescue you."

I looked over my shoulder to see that everyone else had made it to the top of the tower.

"The gangs all here." Luffy mumbled.

"Listen to me Robin! I do care whether you live or die. I want you by my side. If you want to die that bad you can say it when you with us." I told her.

"Come back Robin!" "Please Robin!"

I looked to my side and saw that the others had made their way to the spires next to the one Luffy and I was on.

Nami, Rose, Zoro, Luffy, Me, Usopp, Sanji, Wyper and Chopper. We were all there and ready to make our move.

"There's nothing to worry about." I told her "Just leave it to us."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	65. Chapter 65: The Tower of Law

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"How are we gonna get across?" Luffy asked.

"There's a drawbridge." Zoro explained "Then Franky Family is working to lower it while we came up here to find you two."

"Don't you pirates get it?!" Some man I a dumb mask yelled from across the gap "No matter what you does nothing will change! We have the strength of CP9, the Gates of Justice, and more than that I have the Golden Transponder Snail and the power to initiate a **Buster Call!**"

"The **Buster Call**."

"This is the power that wiped Nico Robin's hometown off the map!"

"Robin's home." "I'm gonna kick that guy in the face."

_So she really does have nowhere else to go._

"Stop it!"

"Oh maybe I should press this button, I can wipe those pirates out by just lifting finger."

"Do you even know what'll happen if you press it?!" Robin yelled

"Of course I know. It will drop those pirates' chances of leaving this place to zero, all that with just the push of a button!"

"It's not that simple!" Robin told him "You said Ohara was wiped off the map, but you can't see the people that lived there. You have no idea what it's like because you look at the world with such destructive eyes."

_It's like she's having a panic attack._

"If you start a **Buster Call** now you'd be wiped out to." Robin told the man "along with the rest of this island."

"What are you talking about, blown up by my own allies, what a joke?"

"Twenty years ago everything was taken from me with one attack. The lives of hundreds of people were ruined, that is what a **Buster Call** is."

_She sounds so sad. It makes me hurt._

"Now that same attack is aimed at the people I care about. Friends it took me so long to find. Most importantly it's aimed at a person I care deeply about." She looked at me "That is why I can't be with you! The more I want to be by your side the more my fate bares its fangs at you. No matter where I go I can't shake this enemy, because my enemy is the world and the darkness in it. First the incident with Aokiji and now this! This is twice I've gotten you involved in my problems. If this keeps up even someone like you, someone who says he loves me will begin to see me as nothing more than a burden. In time you'll have to betray me! That is what I'm most afraid of, that you'll break my heart because I'm just a distraction! If that's the way I'd have to feel I'd rather die now!"

_I'd never leave you behind. _

"So that's how it is." Zoro remarked.

"Well at least you know she likes you." Rose said.

"Damn your sea is complicated." Wyper groaned.

"See that pirates" The man said jumping up and pointing at the flag "That flag represents the unity of the four seas and the Grande Line! Do you understand how insignificant you are? Can you comprehend the size of the organization that's after her?"

"Do you understand Luffy?" I asked "the nature of Robin's enemy."

"I understand very well." He said "Sogeking…shoot down that flag."

"Roger." Usopp pulled out a huge slingshot "This is my new weapon, the great slingshot Kabuto! Observe its power, **Firebird Star!**"

The bullet flew through the air and exploded into a flaming bird flying through the air. The fireball collided with the flag and burnt a hole in the center and turned the piece of cloth to ash.

"The Pirates have declared war on the World!"

"Do you fools have any idea what you've done? You won't survive a war with the world! You'll be hunted for the rest of your miserable lives!"

"I'll happily live that way if I can have Robin!" I told him I looked over at Robin "I need you to say it! Tell me you want to live! I don't want to lose you! I love you too much for that!"

"Please Robin." "Robin!" "Come on Robin!"

I was far away but I could see she was starting to tear up.

"I WANNA LIVE! Please take me with you! Take me to sea; take me out like you promised!"

_Of course I will._

The chains below us creaked and the bridge started to descend.

"They did their job." Sanji said.

"Business is about to pick up." Wyper said revving the jets on his skates.

"Lower faster." Zoro said with a dark look.

The bridge was about halfway down "Here we go!" Luffy yelled.

"I can't wait." I told him.

The bottom of the bridge exploded and the whole thing stopped lowering.

"Who did that?!" Rose yelled

"He's trying to take Robin!" Chopper pointed out.

"Some else grab Cutty Flam let's not waste this chance!"

"Spandam." Franky said holding up stack of paper "These are the real deal." Franky flicked through the pile and showed them to Lucci and Kaku.

"Those are real; he was keeping them inside his body."

"Listen up Nico Robin." Franky started "the rest of the world might think you're a demon but I don't think so. Tom and Iceberg risked their lives for these blueprints. Spandam, if a moron like you gets his hands on the weapon these blueprints would be needed to stop you from running amuck, that was the designer's wish. If you use Nico Robin to resurrect the first weapon things could get bad. Those are her true friends here to defend her right now. So I'm placing my bet. There is only one way for me to fulfill the designers wish now." Franky spit out fire and burned the papers.

"What are you doing those are mine you bastard!"

"Those Blueprints were for fighting back, If Nico Robin slips through your fingers it'll all work out. That's why I'm putting my faith in the Strawhats. "

"Hey Bro!"

"It's the Franky Family." Chopper said.

"Hey Jerks!" Luffy yelled "Robin's waiting on the other side hurry it up!"

"Hey Strawhat!" Franky yelled "Since you looked after my underlings I'll give you guy a hand!"

"Do whatever you want I haven't forgiven you for what happened to Usopp!"

"Give me back my blueprints!" Spandam shoved Franky off the balcony and he started plummeting towards the falls.

"Franky!"

"Hey pirates." Nami's pocket started talking.

"Kokoro."

"What are you hesitating for?"

"The bridge is stuck halfway." Nami explained.

"Half is good enough I'll be there in five seconds, jump into the falls."

"What's that old lady talking about?" Wyper asked.

"Do you hear that whistle?" Luffy asked "I get it!"

Luffy threw his arms out around every one and pulled us all into the fall

"Let's go!"

We fell down towards imminent doom only to be rescued by Rocket Man.

"Yahoo!"

"This is gonna be close!"

We crashed through the front door and arrived inside the Tower of Law. We got thrown from the train and slammed into the various chunks of rubble around us.

"RAH!" Luffy threw the rubble of us "We made it!"

"Let's go you guys, get up" I told them.

"We're good!" they yelled freeing themselves.

"Good they're fine."

"You guys are all freaks." Franky said.

"Let's get going we have to find Robin." I told them.

"Chapapa!"

"Who's there?"

"Even if you go to the room you saw us in earlier you won't find Nico Robin there. Lucci is already taking her to The Gates of Justice. There is no way for you to rescue her unless you defeat us." The round man, at least I think it's a man, pulled a key out of his pocket.

"A key?"

"This is the key to Nico Robin's Seastone handcuffs."

"Even if we rescue Robin that stuff is as hard as a diamond it can't be cut." Zoro said

"Hand it over!" Luffy shot his hand out but missed the man.

"Hold your horses I never said this was the real key. Maybe this key goes to a different pair of cuffs. There are five…no wait I think there's six members of CP9 in the tower each with a key."

"So we won't know the real one until we get to Robin." Rose explained.

"They're playing for time." Sanji added "While we throw down with you, Robin will get taken through the Gates of Justice."

"Then we get Robin first." Nami said "We can get the keys afterward."

"No we can't." Wyper told her.

"What are you talking about of course we can?"

"Think about it, if we all go to get Robin what's stopping them from destroying their keys. If we screw this up she'll have those cuffs on forever."

"Your friend is right. I'll just toss my key into the falls if you do that. We've given you a chance, good luck."

Luffy tried to run off but Zoro and Usopp stopped him "Hang on let's figure out what's going on first."

"Lucci's the pigeon guy right." Rose said "Then just let Luffy and Steve go and deal with him."

"Excluding Luffy and Steve, but counting Franky that leaves us with eight fighters. We'll get the six keys and meet up with those two and Robin" Sanji said "There are more than enough of us so find someone and take them down."

"If Robin goes through the gates this will have been for nothing." Usopp said "Timing is key."

"Losing does nothing, so win, even if it kills you!"

We split up and headed off to find our opponents and rescue Robin.

"You guys better come back alive!"

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

I was skating through the building looking for someone carrying a key.

"I gotta find one of those guys."

"Hey Wing-guy!" I turned around and saw Franky was following me "Have you seen the kitchen?"

"This is no time for a snack!"

"I'm not on a break I'm trying to find some cola to refuel!"

"You run on soda?" I asked.

"Damn straight."

"That's kind of cool." I mumbled.

The big round guy from before fell from the ceiling and blocked our path to the kitchen.

"I'm 'silent' Fukuro"

Franky stuck his arm out and stopped a bullet from blowing my brains out.

"Didn't you get kicked of the train?"

"Nero can't you do anything right!"

"That body of your keeps getting in my way." A man with a cheap hat and cat like face said "I'll redeem myself by killing the both of you!"

I swung my bazooka around into my hand "My **Burn Bazooka 2.0** should blast a hole right through you. You said just need to get to the kitchen then you can fight these guys, right Franky."

"Yeah!"

"Then let's move!"

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"It's funny that we both ended up in the same room." I said.

"Must be fate."

"Since when do you believe in fate Zoro?"

"Are you two done talking?" Kaku asked "You already have you're weapons drawn."

"They crave blood." We told him.

"Hand over the key to Robins handcuffs before I slice you through and take it from your corpse." I told him.

"What a ridiculous request. I regret I didn't get to see your full skills back at the mansion. I thought I never get to see them but you managed to make it here."

"I'm stronger then I was before." Zoro told him.

"You're a scary man, but my swordsmanship is the best in CP9" The man pulled out two swords.

"Is it two sword style?" I pondered.

"**Tempest Kick!" **Two shockwaves flew at us but Zoro stepped in front and knocked them away, destroying a bookshelf and its contents.

"No it's four." Zoro told me "Their whole bodies are weapons."

"Sounds interesting." I smirked.

Zoro dashed forwards and started swinging at the agent. They perfectly blocked each other's attacks it was amazing to watch, but I'm no slouch so I got involved myself.

"**Dagger Shot!"** I threw a blade in between eh two men and it stuck itself in Kaku's arm. I ran forward myself and started slashing at the man.

_He's blocking me and Zoro at the same time. He's so strong._

"**Tempest Kick!"**

"**72 Caliber Phoenix!"**

The two waves collided and let out a blast of air.

"Zoro move." I pushed the green haired man behind me and blocked an X cut from Kaku by pointing the tip of my dagger where his swords met "They intersect here; a keen eye can block that strike."

Kaku spun away and Zoro charged at him and went for the neck. Kaku ducked under it as I ran towards him.

"**Blade High Heel!" **A knife came out of my shoe soul and I kicked at Kaku's chest but he rolled away from my kick.

I pulled my foot out of the ground and the knife snapped back into place.

"This is fun." Kaku commented.

"We're not here to play around." Zoro told him.

"Then come get me **Tempest Kick: Slaughter!**"

A massive amount of waves came at Zoro and I and we were forced to block dozens. A few nicked my jacket but I was okay.

"Are you trying to make a fool out of me?" Zoro asked

"What'd you mean?" I said.

"His aim on that attack was a joke, he wasn't even trying."

_He was barely trying and I got hit, well that's gonna be a problem._

"I'm impressed that you still blocked so many, since you're in a hurry I'll show you my new abilities."

Kaku's neck started to get really long.

"What the hell is that?"

"Zoro hold me, I'm scared." The floor started cracking "We're gonna fall!"

The floor collapsed and we fell into the room below.

"If you can't control them don't use them!" I yelled.

"A talking Giraffe!" Usopp screamed form below.

"A talking Wolf?!" Zoro yelled.

"This place is right out of my nightmares!" I cried

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	66. Chapter 66: Tag Team

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"Gyahaha! The Ox-Ox Fruit: Model Giraffe, how's it feel to be a giraffe-man I told you not to eat that fruit!"

"Shut it Jabra, I like it."

"Lucci was a leopard, and these two are animal Zoan types to. This place is a fricken zoo!" I groaned.

"How long are you two gonna argue?" Zoro asked "We're in a hurry so can I just cut you in half now."

"You underestimate the destructive power of the giraffe." Kaku told us.

"Those two words don't go together." I told him.

"**Transform: Human-Beast Form!"**

All Kaku did was stand on two legs.

"Is this some kind of joke?!" Zoro yelled.

"Go back to the circus freak!" I told him "You gonna show up in my dreams for months."

"What did you just say?"

"Stay focused." Zoro told me "If you don't you could get hurt."

"I can take care of myself."

"Gyahaha!" the wolf-man laughed at his friend and his hideous form.

"How long are you gonna keep laughing Jabra!"

*click* a pair of handcuffs locked around Zoro's wrist.

"What the."

"Sorry!" Usopp yelled "Those are Seastone handcuffs. I thought we'd be able to stick them together and weaken them."

"Then why attach them to Zoro?!" I asked.

"It was an accident."

"I've had enough!" Kaku began to spin in place **"Tempest Kick: Sky Slicer!"**

"Usopp get down!" Zoro tackled the long nose and I jumped behind a rock.

A massive shockwave flew over us and cut through the building.

_That body lets him use physics to his advantage._

"Look at the ceiling." Zoro said.

"Why can I see the sky?"

"He cut the whole building!" I said stunned "They're so powerful!"

"So what." Zoro said "we can take them."

*Click*

We all slowly adjusted and looked down.

"What have you done?"

"I'm sorry!"

Zoro and Usopp had become stuck together with the handcuffs.

"This is your fault" Usopp said "You tackled me."

"Cause you were gonna get your head cut off. Hurry up and get these things off."

"I don't have the key."

"You dumbass!" I yelled ringing our Usopp's neck "Now you're stuck like Robin!"

"What's the number on the cuffs?" Kaku asked "Each set of cuffs and keys has a corresponding number, which is on yours."

"Number 2" Usopp said.

The two men looked at their keys "Not mine." "It ain't mine either."

"That means one of the other members has it." I said.

"Whoever kills them first is the winner!" the two changed back into hybrid mode and attacked us.

"Do something!" Zoro said.

"**Dagger Storm!"** I threw out a barrage of knives but the two just ran through them like nothing "I didn't work!" I said running with Zoro and Usopp.

"What are you doing?" Chopper asked "It looks like fun."

"Chopper go find key number two!" Usopp yelled

"I can stay and fight with Rose." Chopper said joining us in running around the room.

"Don't be ridiculous." I told him "Kill two birds with one stone. Take out a member of CP9 and find the key we need."

"The cook, Nami, Wyper, or Franky. One of them has to have it." Zoro said

"You can count on me." Chopper said running off.

I stopped running and blocked the sharp fingers of the Jabra to get some space between him and the boys.

"Down boy." I said slipping another knife out of my sleeve **"Hidden Blade!"** the shiv cut Jabra's wrist and spilled some blood.

"You little bitch. **Finger Pistol!**"

"Gah!" the nail dug went through my jacked and dug into my side.

"**Bladed Jacket!" **I pulled a loose string and the knives in the lining of the jacket emerged and forced Jabra to jump back.

"What the hell!"

"This jacket was a gift from my Uncle, each nook and cranny has a knife hidden in it somewhere. You might be a wolf but I'm like a porcupine." I reached inside and pulled another string **"Emergency Maneuver: Needle Storm!"** the jacket exploded and showered hundreds of tiny daggers into the room, I threw off the no tattered jacket leaving me in just a tank top "That was my final technique, if I need a blade all I need to do it pick one up off the floor, only problem is now I can't use more than a few at a time."

"What the hell you almost hit us!" Zoro and Usopp yelled.

"You two just wait for Chopper; I'll hold them off till then."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"You're sure they took Robin through this door."

"Yeah but you need a key to open it, I'm sorry."

"No worries Chimney you did well." I told the girl "Leave the door to us."

"You two get back" Luffy told her.

"Break it down." I said sternly.

Luffy bit his finger **"Third Gear: Bone Balloon!"**

Luffy blasted down the door with one punch before shrinking to the size of a small child.

"Good job let's go." I said picking him up.

Luffy climbed up and plopped down on my head "Shrinking sucks."

"Please don't sit there or at least hang on we're about to go much faster."

"Onward my noble steed!" Luffy cheered.

"Don't call me that you make it sound weird. Anyway let's go **Shave! **I'm coming Robin!"

"So I meant to ask you" Luffy said "What are you gonna do once we rescue Robin?"

"What'd you mean?"

"Well are you gonna take her out for meat, can I come?!"

"Well I did say I would take her out, but I'll do it alone you can't come. Who knows how bad you'd embarrass me in front of Robin."

"Not more than you'd embarrass yourself." Luffy joked

I slowed down as Luffy changed back to his normal size.

"What does that mean?"

"I just mean you'll probably get all nervous and do something dumb, not that Robin cares she likes you too much to be bothered by that."

"Since when are you a love guru?" I asked.

"Well that's just all the stuff Nami says." Luffy answered "She says you two need to stop with the song and dance and make out already."

"Whoa! A little fast for that, Nami's gonna get an earful when we get done here. She shouldn't be telling you things like that, unless maybe she wants you to do those things to her."

"What no!"

"You're blushing Luffy."

"Yeah well you are to! Once we save Robin I'm gonna make sure you kiss her."

"Shut it runt, we wouldn't want Nami to find you sleeping in her bed one morning would we?"

"You wouldn't dare." Luffy said.

"Then you better not embarrass me in front of Robin and we won't have a problem."

Luffy and I ran the rest of the way in silence until we came to a door.

"This one's not steel I can take care of it **"Whip Crush!**"

"This room's wide open?" Luffy pointed out.

"It's like an arena." I added.

"Welcome."

"Pigeon guy!" "Lucci!"

* * *

**Wyper's POV **

"**Wide Burst!"** I fired off the bazooka to knock back the two men chasing us.

"**Franky Triangle Jacker!"** Franky threw his sideburns at Fukuro but the man disappeared "He dodged."

"Like I'd be hit by an attack like that." Franky blocked the man's punch with his forearm.

"**Tempest Kick!"** I slid under the wave and skated towards Nero.

"**Impact!"**

"**Iron Body!"**

The dial fired but had almost no effect.

_How can they take it like it's nothing?_

"Rah!" Franky threw Fukuro into Nero.

"**White Hot Cone!" **I blasted the two men with my laser "Get to the kitchen!"

"You're not going anywhere."

Franky was close to the door when Fukuro appeared in front of the door again.

"**Finger Pistol: Solid Beast!"** Franky got punched in the face but shook it off like nothing.

"**Strong Right!"**

Nero pulled himself out of the rubble that the last blast created and fired two pistols at me. I jumped over the bullets.

"**Jet Kick!" **I spun around and kicked at Nero with my skate.

"**Iron Body!" **I flipped and landed behind Nero.

"**Axe Dial!" **I blast cut into Nero's back **"Impact!" **I blasted Nero through the wall and skated after him **"Precision Saw!" **

"**Moon Walk!" **Nero kicked the air and avoided the laser **"Tempest Kick!"**

I once again slid under the wave **"Jet Kick!" **I knocked Nero across the room when Franky burst through the wall and buried him in more stone.

"Oh sweet the kitchen!"

Another wall broke and Chopper and some guy came through.

"A gorilla?"

Chopper locked the man who was attacking him and locked him in the fridge.

"Yeah!"

"Kumadori?!"

"Dammit gorilla I needed something from the fridge." Franky yelled.

"Ahh it's the punk!"

"My name's Franky! I'm your ally you stupid gorilla!"

"Who you calling a gorilla?"

"We don't have time for this you two." I said "We need to get it together to save Robin. Franky needs cola to fight at full strength."

"I want to save her" Chopper cried.

"Then get me three bottles of cola from the fridge." Franky said.

"What idiot gets stronger with soda?!"

"This one." I shrugged.

"It's rude to ignore your opponent during battle. **Solid Beast!**"

Franky got tackled to the ground and began to get pulverized.

"**Double Tempest Kick!"**

One of the waves cut at my arm but I avoided the other one.

"**Wide Burst!" **I fired off a cannon ball at Nero but he jumped over it and pointed his pistols at me.

_Nothing is doing any real damage._

"SUPER~!"

"What the hell was that?" Nero and I both said confused.

"**Strong Hammer!"**

Fukuro came flying past and crashed into Nero sending them both out onto the balcony.

"Hey wait." Chopper said "We need to find key number 2. Zoro and Usopp are locked together."

"Those idiots. At least we know what key we don't need for Robin." I mumbled heading out to the balcony.

"**Shave!" **Nero suddenly appeared in front of me and punched me in the stomach then he grabbed me and threw me off the ledge.

"Crap!" I landed on the ground just shy of falling into the abyss below.

"**Tempest Kick!"**

"GAH!"

The wave hit me in the back and knocked me to the ground.

"**Impact!"** I blasted Nero off me. "Screw you cat man."

"Your toys are a pain in the ass." Nero fired his guns "Just die!"

"**White Hot Cone!"** I melted the bullets before they got near me.

"**Shave!"** Nero appeared in the air behind me and kicked me in the back of the head and sat on my body.

"**Axe Dial!"**

"**Iron Body!"**

The slash bounced off.

_It went through last time what stopped it._

"I will redeem myself!"

_He's gonna blow my brains out!_

*click* "Ah crap it's empty!"

"**Impact!"**

_Well that was a stroke of pure luck._

"I need that key now hand it over." I said.

"Why would I. Why do you even care? All the intel says that you just joined these people, you should just leave them behind."

"I can't do that. A friend needs me. Back home my friends were all I had; I can't face them if I abandon the ones I've made down here. I tried to sacrifice my friends back during the fight against Eneru. That was wrong. I trust my friends and they trust me, I won't abandon them! I don't want to walk over the bodies of dead comrades!"

"What a pathetic sentiment." Nero joked.

I skated forward, jumped and pinned Nero's arms with my legs "I'm not supposed to do this."

I shoved the dial in his face.

"That won't work **Iron Body!"**

"Eat this! **Reject!"**

_This has to go through._

"GAH!"

The blast blew Nero into the stone stairs.

"My arm is killing me." I stumbled over and picked the key out from under Nero's hat "One down, who knows how many to go."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**I have some papers to type this week so updates will be light.**


	67. Chapter 67: The Zoo

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

"Key number 6. That's no good, can't help those two with this."

"I got 4." Franky said walking up "The only one who could have the secretary we should hurry up and go take care of her."

"Chopper mentioned that Sanji got taken out by her and that Nami went to fight her." I explained "Let's hurry."

"Who knows how tough the rest of them will be. I need to stock up on cola just to be safe."

"Fine, we can check on Chopper while were up there."

"I wonder what happened to the reindeer."

Franky climbed up the side of the building and I wasn't far behind him.

"What the hell is that?!"

A giant goliath was standing before us. It looked like a yeti of some kind, and it was holding that guy Chopper locked in the fridge. It lifted its arm and threw the man across the island like it was no problem.

"Wasn't that deer wearing a hat like that?" Franky said.

The monster was wearing a pink top hat, just like Chopper's.

_It can't be._

"Chopper?! Is that you?!"

_It's like he doesn't recognize me._

"It's Wyper, your friend."

The beast just roared and slammed its open palm into me and Franky.

"Oh shit!"

* * *

**Steve's POV**

Lucci was sitting there playing around with a transponder snail.

Spandam's voice was coming from the other end "I triggered the **Buster Call!**"

"That idiot!"

"What have you done?!"

_That was Robin's voice._

"Where is she speaking from?" I asked.

"Behind that door." Lucci said pointing behind him.

"**Shave Kick!"**

_I've seen Sanji enough to know proper form_

Lucci blocked my heel with his elbow.

"I won't let you pass."

Luffy came up behind me and punched at Lucci's stomach.

"**Finger Pistol!"**

I dropped to avoid the stabbing motion.

"**Whip Lash!"** I swung at Lucci's legs but he jumped over it.

"HA!" Lucci punched forward and I punched at him as well.

The two punches collided and I felt like my arm was gonna break. The force of the two blows moved even the sir in the room. I slid back towards some boxes which were being tossed around in the wind.

"Robin's right behind that door right?"

"Yes she's right there. But you'll never see her again."

"Get out of my way!" I charged forward **"Shave Lock! **Luffy!" I pinned Lucci's arms back and Luffy came up and punched him in the gut **"Stern-Breaker!"** I lifted Lucci up and slammed his head into the ground.

_I don't have to beat this guy I just have to get to Robin._

I made a dash for the door but Lucci got up and kicked me away "You're not going anywhere."

"**Gatling!"** Luffy threw a box towards Lucci and started punching is sending splinters raining throughout the air.

Lucci caught his foot and went to punch him in the face.

"Luffy duck!" Luffy lowered his slightly and I moved my foot up **"Tempest Kick!"** I sent a wave over Luffy's head and at Lucci.

He dropped Luffy to get into a defensive stance; I had taken him off guard with that attack.

"**Gum-Gum Bazooka!"**

Lucci blocked one of Luffy's strongest attacks with just his lag "You two are getting annoying."

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"**Finger Pistol!"**

"I thought I told you not to touch me you dirty mutt! **Blade Edge!**" I reached forward to try and stab Jabra's eye but the giraffe's neck slammed into me and threw me across the room.

"**Ten-Fold Pistol!" **I looked up to see Jabra's claws closing in on me but a sword blocked it "Zoro."

"Get up!"

"Right!" I said running away from the wolf.

"Look there's only one thing we can do." Zoro said "We play rock, paper, scissors and the loser will have his hand cut off."

"That's ridiculous!" Usopp and I yelled.

"The loser can take his hand right to Chopper and have him sow it back on."

"No way!" I yelled "What if you don't get there in time, what if it kills you! Besides who's to say the limb will even stay on after that! It's too dangerous, no!"

"Fine I have another plane." Zoro said tugging Usopp around "Listen up Sogeking, you are now a sword."

"Someone help me, Chopper!"

"You two look even more ridiculous."

The phones in CP9's pocket's started ringing and the answered it.

"I triggered the **Buster Call!**"

"Oh this is bad!" Usopp yelled.

"We need to finish up here and get to the Gates of Justice." Kaku told Jabra.

"Your name will be Nose-storm."

"Are you even paying attention!" I yelled.

Adding to the massive amount of troubles we were having the wall in the back of the room exploded and another monster came in.

"AHH!"

"RUN!"

We booked it away from the goliath that was chasing us.

"What is that thing?!" I asked in a panic.

"It looks like Chopper." Usopp said "Look at the horns and the hat."

"Then why doesn't he recognize us?" Zoro asked.

"I don't know keep running!"

"What are we gonna do about Key number 2?" Usopp asked "Are we gonna die?"

"Something's wrong with him." Zoro pointed out "He looks like he's about to keel over."

"It must take an incredible amount of energy to maintain that form. His vitality is dropping rapidly."

"Eliminate the interruption!" Kaku and Jabra went to attack the monster Chopper.

"Straighten your back." Zoro told Usopp **"36 Caliber Phoenix."**

I picked some Knives off the floor and threw them **"Blade Fan!"**

The attacks forced the CP9 agents to not attack Chopper.

"Move it!" Franky yelled entering the room.

"Franky what are you doing?" I asked "That's our friend."

"I know so move it. This is the only way. Devil Fruit power has one weakness, water. I'll push him into the ocean. **Coup De Vent!**" he blasted Chopper and knocked him out of the building Franky ran after him to go make sure he didn't drown.

"You bastard!"

"Relax it was part of the plan." Nami said entering the room.

"Here's your damn key." Wyper said throwing it to me.

"Ready to start fighting back?" I asked unlocking the cuffs.

"So you're finally free huh?"

"Don't laugh." Zoro told them "Because you just lost your last chance to kill me."

"Shouldn't have argued as much and you might have killed at least one of us." I told them "Now you're going down!"

"We've wasted too much time on you."

"Hurry up and get their keys." Nami yelled.

"**Tempest Kick: Line!"** A straight line pierced the area between Zoro to block it.

I dashed forward towards Kaku "I told you your neck will be a weakness."

"I have the muscles to move it as needed **Nose Gun!**"

Zoro jumped forward, blocked the attack and bent Kaku's neck and sent him towards a rock. Kaku impaled the rock and left a square indent. Kaku flailed his neck to free his nose and the rock slammed into Wyper.

"Oh boy." I flipped back and picked a dagger up off the floor "Maybe I was a little too confident."

"Usopp!"

I locked over saw that Jabra was holding Usopp up and was ready to kill him. Wyper was stuck under the rock Kaku had just drilled into before

"Please don't kill him we don't need your key!" Nami begged.

"You'll be next. Now die!"

Jabra's claw closed in on Usopp, but he was kicked away.

"What the hell?"

"Sanji!"

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

_I gotta get my foot free or long-nose is gonna die._

"Now Die!"

"Usopp!"

The wolf was getting closer and there was nothing I could do, then he got kicked across the room.

"Sanji!"

"Cook."

"Sanji how'd you get back to normal?" Nami asked.

"A bathtub fell from the heavens and removed my curse." Sanji explained "but enough of that, do you love me now Nami?!"

"I wish the tub had hit you."

I finally managed to roll the rock off my foot.

_Doesn't feel broken._

"I'm sorry I couldn't beat him." Usopp said.

"It's fine, all that matters is that you're alive. Everyone has something they can and can't do." Sanji told him "Look outside. The Gates of Justice are starting to open. Soon Robin will be in a place we can't reach."

"No way, those two didn't make it!"

"It just keeps getting worse." I groaned.

"Leave this key to me." Sanji said "I'll do what you can't you do what I can't."

"I don't…"

"Think carefully, understand the situation. If you get there we can save Robin! Think Usopp!"

"**Shave!"**

"Now Go!"

"Come on you two." I said grabbing Usopp and Nami and skating off "Do you understand Long-Nose?"

"I understand…I need to get to the roof."

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"Quit being a pain in the ass. **Buzz Saw Slicer!**"

"**Iron Body!"**

I spun in the air and grinded against Kaku's back but I just rolled off due to his defenses.

"**Two Sword Style: Nigiri!" **Zoro slashed up and then brought his swords back down.

Kaku flailed his neck around and slammed into Zoro. I came at him from behind while he was distracted by Zoro.

"**Sunset Shower!"** my knife cut into Kaku but it didn't go far enough to do damage "His neck's too thick!"

"**Nose Gun!"**

I saw what that attack did to the rock earlier and had no intention of taking it head on **"Sickle Claw!"** I held the nose against my curved blades "Zoro!"

"**Oni Giri!" **

"**Iron Body!"**

Zoro slashed through the neck but it was still in one piece.

"Damn."

"If I could just have dug into his neck a little more." I said.

"Too bad I no longer have any weak spots." Kaku said bending his neck around his body **"Perfect Square."**

"Oh come on!" "How can you fight like that?"

"Did you know Giraffes have four legs? **Tempest Kick!**" Kaku just sat there wiggling his feet.

"That just looks sad." I commented.

"My attack has already started."

"Hmm?"

"Those attacks will be reflected by the roof. **Giraffe Rain!"**

A shower of those shockwaves fell from the ceiling. There were too many. Zoro was blocking a good amount but I was being cut to shreds.

_If I hadn't pulled my jacket apart I could just use it to block these attacks._

I pulled myself off the floor and started putting my broadsword together. It was the only thing I had that could cut into his neck.

"You two are remarkably strong willed. It's amazing."

"**20,000 Thorn Broadsword! **Don't compliment me dirt bag. **Thorn Slash!**"

_Come on do it!_

"**Iron Body!"**

_Yes!_

"**Detach Blade Lasso!" **the sword snapped off and wrapped around Kaku's neck "Zoro break it."

"**One Sword Style Drawing Strike: Lion's Song!"**

"**Tempest Kick!"**

I darted out of Zoro's way and brought my sword back to me.

"You're a pain in the ass." Zoro sighed taking in a breath and making his arms huge.

_How'd he do that?_

Zoro and Kaku clashed sending out a shock wave that rippled the air itself.

"I'll show you the true power of the giraffe." Kaku pulled his neck back **"Giraffe Cannon!"**

"There is no Giraffe is shaped like that." I told him.

"**Ultimate Nose Gun!"** The neck shot out so fast I didn't even see it coming.

Zoro jumped out of the way and I tried to block the attack with my sword.

_It's cracking!_

My sword broke apart into its components and Kaku's nose slammed it my.

"GAH!"

I got pinned between the nose and the wall.

"That long neck will get you killed." Zoro said going to slash it.

"Not so fast!" Kaku spun his neck out of Zoro's reach and kicked a wave at him as his body spun "Now your wide open!" Kaku tried to do that thing with his neck again but this time his arms and legs got long instead.

"What is with your body?!" I yelled struggling to get off the floor.

"It's kinda like a pasta machine; you have to push the flour out. **Pasta Machine!**"

"Don't name your attack on the spot!"

"**Ultimate Nose Gun!"**

"**Tatsumaki!"** Zoro's whirlwind hit the underside of Kaku's neck.

"**Knife Rain!"** I started throwing dozens of dagger at Kaku as he jumped through the air.

"He went up a floor." Zoro pointed out.

Kaku quickly came back with his swords from before saying he would maximize the giraffe's power with Four Sword Style. The two once again exchanged sword strikes until Zoro spun at Kaku.

_He's wide open!_

I rushed forward and went for Kaku center **"Dual Strike!"** I dashed straight forward and cut through his center.

"I underestimated you, well no more! **Tempest Kick: Shuriken!**"

Zoro and I were forced to block more of those damn waves.

"**Nose Gun!" **The nose came straight at me and I tried to get out of the way "This neck is like a whip! **Whiplash!"**

The neck slammed me into the ground "GAH!"

"More speed! **Fierce Smash!" **

The hits kept coming faster "AHH!"

Kaku pulled out his swords to finish me off but Zoro managed to block them. The two traded attacks again as I sat there in a heap on the floor.

_It hurts._

Zoro's arms blocked the attacks so well it looked like he had six arms.

_I must have banged my head._

Kaku started spinning in place again "What are you gonna do block the attack for yourself or the injured girl?"

"Don't worry about me Zoro…!"

"Leave her out of this. **Demon Aura Nine Sword Style: Asura!"**

_His body!_

Zoro had three heads and six arms.

_What is this!?_

"**Sky Slicer!"**

The wave passed over us and Zoro cut through it and Kaku **"Asura: Silver Mist!"**

And just like that the heads and arms faded away.

_What the hell just happened?_

"I have a message." Zoro told him "You're fired."

"Assassin doesn't really fit well on a resume." Kaku joked.

"You can always try the zoo." I said getting off the floor.

Kaku laughed took his key out of his pocket and collapsed.

"Let's get going." Zoro said.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	68. Chapter 68: Rob Lucci

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"**Shave Knuckle!" **I sprinted forward and went to punch Lucci.

He blocked my attack and pushed me back **"Shave…**GAH!"

"Steve!"

"CRAMP!"

_Not now!_

"That is what you get for using the six powers when you're not properly trained." Lucci said **"Tempest Kick!"**

Luffy pulled my out of the way of the incoming blast.

_He hasn't even used his Devil Fruit yet. He's not taking me seriously._

"Strawhat?!"

"Franky?!"

"You're fighting Lucci huh? He's tough. Where's Nico Robin I brought two of the keys. Do you need a hand?"

"No!" I told him "I need you to go and get Robin. The others will surely have their keys by now. She can't go through that gate!"

"You can get to her through the door." Luffy said "We'll keep him busy so you can get passed."

"Super~! Leave everything to me."

"I'm counting on you Franky."

"**Gum-Gum Pistol!"**

Lucci sipped past the attack and delivered a series of strikes to Luffy's midsection.

"Franky get to the door. **Whip Gale-Force!"** I rushed forward and threw my whips back and brought them forward and into Lucci and he barely budged **"Crush Elbow!"** I slid Lucci back and made room for Franky to get out of the room

_Hurry please._

"I said you're not going anywhere." Lucci had finally shifted into his man-beast form.

"**Jet Pistol!"** Luffy arm came out of now where and knocked Lucci back.

"**Tempest Kick!"** I shot a wave and Lucci and pushed him back further.

"Aren't you forgetting this is the form I used to fill you full of holes?"

"I had an excellent doctor." I told him

"**Shave! Finger Pistol!" **Lucci flashed forward to try and stab me again.

"**Jet Bazooka!" **Luffy's hands crashed into Lucci's back and staggered him.

I crouched low and brought my leg up **"Super Kick!" **My foot slammed into Lucci's face knocking him over "Franky I'll leave rescuing Robin up to you. Don't let me down."

"I'll SUPER~! Fight for the power of love!" Franky said running off.

"I have no more distractions." I told Lucci "It's just you and us."

"I underestimated the two of you, but you seem to be out of breath. Your new techniques are working your bodies to hard."

"It doesn't matter what happens to me if Robin is safe. **Shave!**"I jumped behind Lucci **"Axe Handle!" **I but my fists together and slammed them into Lucci's skull.

"**Jet Whip!"** Luffy knocked the disoriented Lucci off his feet with a leg sweep.

"**Anchor Drop!"** I swung my leg up and it crashed into Lucci's chest.

"**Jet Spear!"** Luffy appeared from above and drove legs into Lucci.

"**Whip Twister!"** I wrapped my whips around Lucci's legs, spun and threw across the room.

"RRRRAAAHHHH!" Lucci stood up out of the pile of rubble and looked furious "You two bugs are going to get squashed!"

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"Hurry up!" Zoro yelled.

Usopp let off a hail of shots that took out men on the far side of the bridge.

"Incredible!" I cheered.

"Our Sniper is the greatest! Take that bastards!" Sanji added.

"Is he singing?"

"Franky!" Usopp called over the snail "the other two keys are in that bag I just shot. That will complete the whole set. Delivery confirmed."

"Mission accomplished." Sanji smirked.

"It'll only get tougher from here." Zoro told him.

"It's Franky! I unlocked the handcuffs!"

"Nice!"

"Hurry up and get over here!" Franky yelled.

"Come on we gotta go Sogeking!" Sanji yelled.

There was a loud explosion in the distance.

"What was that?!"

"That explosion broke the fence around the island." Zoro said.

"And now that the gates are open the current changed and the whirlpools stopped." Sanji added.

"Hurry up and get down here Sogeking it's an emergency!" I yelled.

A cannonball flew past and blew up the top part of the tower, and Usopp along with it.

"USOPP!"

"This isn't real." I said trembling.

"Hey Usopp! Come on!"

"Relax he's fine!" Wyper said landing next to us with Usopp over his shoulder "You almost got killed don't stare into space like that."

"Oh thank God." I exhaled picking up the phone "Franky, Robin we're fine we'll be over there ASAP."

"Where's Nami?" Sanji asked.

"She went off with that old train conductor, the little girl, and Chopper."

We headed down into the underground passage way and started making out way towards the Bridge of Hesitation. Usopp insisted we carry him because he was too weak to move.

"Anyone else hear rushing water?" Usopp asked.

"If this passage floods we'll drown." Sanji said.

"Then let's hope is doesn't." I said.

"ACK! I knew it!" Usopp yelled pointing forward.

Nami, Kokoro and Chimney were running towards us trying to out speed a rushing tide. Zoro tried cutting the wall but it was too hard.

"It's stronger than steel!"

"We don't have anywhere to go!" Wyper yelled as the wave crashed into us.

_Crap, so this is how it ends huh? I always thought I'd go out in a more violent way, like getting my head cut off in a fight. Not that I want that to happen but it at least make for a good story._

"It's gonna be fine. I won't let you die."

_I feel like I'm being pulled along._

I looked forward and saw what was pulling us along

_That old lady's a mermaid!_

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"**Moon Walk!"**

"**Jet Pistol!"** Luffy avoided Lucci's attack and landed a hit of his own.

"I see it's doping. That truly is a technique for a rubber person. Your physical abilities may have increased but you stamina can't keep up. That isn't a smart thing to do" Lucci warned "You hacking away at your life."

"That is better than losing something while it's right in front of my eyes." Luffy told him.

"And you." He said looking at me ""Using those techniques without proper training will tear your legs apart."

"So what. I'd give a few legs to protect my friends. I will beat you, no matter what it takes."

"You've gotten your hopes up." Lucci taunted. "Did you not hear those explosions a few minutes ago? Those were the Marine warships. Soon your friends in the tower of law will die. And just in case someone is in the underground passage" Lucci jumped into the air **"Tempest Kick!" **The attack cut the wall "Now see water will flood the passage. I look forward to seeing how your wish to save everyone will come true now."

"What the hell did you just do?" I dashed forward **"Whip Hurricane!"**

Luffy also came in and punched Lucci as I swung my whips.

"**Double Finger Pistol!" **Lucci stabbed the both of us and threw us back **"Moon Walk!"** Lucci jumped up towards the upper floor to avoid the rising water.

"Luffy we have to get higher or you'll become nothing but dead weight."

Luffy grabbed a nearby ledge and went higher.

"This place has been completely sealed off." Lucci said "It's only a matter of time till this room fills with water." Lucci jumped through the air and went through a hole in the ceiling.

"After him."

Luffy threw his arms up and we followed him into the next rom.

"What happened to the pirates, what happened to the Franky Family and Galley-La, What happened to Nico Robin? I bet all these things are running through your minds. Go ahead and save them."

"I'm not taking my eyes off you." Luffy said "No matter what they'll survive."

"But if we let you go, you'll kill them without waiting a second." I added.

"You two are really are cut out to be the leaders. But!" Lucci dashed forward "Would the same not happen if you two die?! **Finger Pistol!**"

Luffy ducked under the claw.

"**Tempest Kick!" **I shot a wave at Lucci.

"**Tempest Kick: Leopard Tail!" **Lucci kick blew though mine and shredded Luffy and I "And Again!"

"**Whip Binding!" **I wrapped my whip around Lucci's leg to stop the attack "I will protect my loved ones!"

"**Gum-Gum Rifle!"**

"**Iron Body: Empty Tree!"** Lucci puffed out his chest as Luffy's fist slammed into it and knocking Luffy off balance "If that had been you it would have shattered your hand." He told me **"Finger Pistol!**

I flipped up and grabbed Lucci by the hair **"Figurehead DDT!"**

As he was falling Lucci let off another attack **"Flying Finger Pistol!" ** The projectiles dug into Luffy.

"Gah!"

I slammed Lucci into the ground and ran towards Luffy.

"**Tempest Kick!"**

_He got up so fast!_

The wave slammed into my back and but my skin.

"UGH!"

"It's time for another technique." Luffy told him sticking his finger in his mouth **"Third Gear!" **Luffy threw his arm back and inflated the other hand **"Bone Balloon!"**

"It's the power of air that travels from bone to bone." I explained "Now face the arm of a giant!"

"**Giant Pistol!"** Luffy's fist crashed into Lucci and broke the wall and threw him outside.

I jumped up and ran across Luffy's arm. Lucci was suspended in the air and wide open.

"**Whip Storm Force!" **the whips straight and back down spiking Lucci onto the deck of the nearby warship.

"**Rocket!" **Luffy flew out of the building and moved the air from his chest to his leg.

I attached my whip to Luffy's other leg and swung onto his back "Bring in down!"

"**Giant Axe!"**

Lucci popped up nearby us and threw out a **Tempest Kick.** Luffy ducked under the attack but Lucci changed into full animal form and bit into Luffy's shoulder.

"Get off!" I yelled prying the jaws open.

The fangs dug into my fingers and Luffy moved the air to his chest and blew Lucci off his body. Lucci landed back on the mast and Luffy crushed it with **Giant Whip.**

Lucci jumped into the air and appeared behind us **"Tempest Kick: Victory Eagle!"**

The kick spilt the falling mast in two but I managed to pull us away from it and not get cut in half.

"That was close." I said.

"Time's up!" Luffy yelled as the air started rushing out of his body.

I grabbed his leg and we flew back to the tower we were in before. I grabbed Luffy as we crashed into the floor.

"That technique is strong but the side effects are too strong." I told him we need to hide till you return to normal."

"**Tempest Kick!"**

"Ah!"

The tiny Luffy and I got nailed with the attack.

"You pay a hefty price to use those abilities. **Life Return: Sketch Form**" Lucci's hybrid form shifted and became smaller.

_How'd he do that?_

"**Finger Pistol."** Lucci picked up Luffy with one finger and slammed him into the wall.

I tried to get up and help him but I couldn't move.

_Come on not now!_

"**Finger Pistol Spots!"**

Lucci was moving so fast it looked like he had a dozen arms.

"**Whip Lash!"** I swung from my spot on the ground and tripped Lucci buying Luffy time to get back to normal.

"Now we're really getting started." Luffy and I told him.

"You scum!"

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**Probably gonna wrap up Enies Lobby tomorrow.**


	69. Chapter 69: Going Back Together

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"BLEG!" I coughed up a bunch of water.

"GAH! Mermaids do exist!" Usopp yelled.

"What's a mermaid?" Wyper asked.

"Certainly not that!" I added.

Chopper flopped to the deck "I can't move."

I climbed up the stairs after Zoro to get a look.

"I'll tell you later." Zoro added "Look at this, the island we were on before is nothing more than an inferno now."

"They have an order not to kill Nico Robin." Frank told us "That's why the bridge isn't getting attacked."

"We need to leave as soon as possible." Usopp said "We're too weak to keep fighting much longer."

"Probably there." I said pointing to a part of the bridge "It's the only place with smoke but no fire."

"We protect this escape route." Zoro told us "And wait for Steve and Luffy."

_Please be careful._

Nami told us that the ship was all set to go we just needed to wait for Steve and Luffy.

"It's gonna be hard to even get out of here with all these warships blocking the path." Sanji said.

"Hopefully we have some good luck." I smiled.

A loudspeaker started reporting to the Marine ships "The fifty pirates at the main gate…"

"That's my guys. No need to worry they can't be killed." Franky said.

"Have been obliterated, Death confirmed, survival is impossible. The number of survivors on the main island is zero."

I felt my lips quivering "This…it's…no fair…"

"Come on! Strawhat! Torturer!" Franky yelled "Hurry up you two your friends are waiting for you!"

One of the side walls where Luffy and Steve were exploded.

"Lucci is incredibly strong." Franky explained "If those two hadn't been holding him there, we might all be dead already."

"They won't die, right?" Usopp asked.

"Of course not." Wyper said.

The warships started firing and blew up half the bridge, isolating Luffy and Steve.

"The ships are circling them!" I yelled.

"And these other ones are coming to get Robin." Zoro added.

"The smoke cleared look!"

We could see them from where we were standing. Steve and Luffy were still in one piece, Luffy was steaming for some reason and Steve was covered in blood, sweat and dirt, but they were alive.

"We made it!" Franky yelled.

"We got Robin to!"

"You gotta beat that guy!"

"You deal with him and we can all go back! Together!"

The two of them smiled and shook their heads, and the rest of us got ready to fight for our lives.

"This will be a battle of endurance." Zoro explained.

The Marines on the warships near us hopped up to the edges and were getting ready to attack.

"Only officers of the rank Captain or higher should engage the pirates."

"All these guys are gonna be as strong a Smoker." I pointed out.

"Where's Sanji!" Wyper yelled.

"He was here a second ago."

"Damn cook." Zoro mumbled.

"CHARGE!"

"He we go!" I yelled.

Men started jumping on to the bridge and we were left to deal with them. Franky punched one guy and broke into pieces.

"What the hell! They have Devil Fruit users!"

When Zoro slashed at a man Yubashiri rusted in his hand. He wasn't paying attention and someone was coming to attack him from behind.

"Zoro Move!" I ran forward and pushed him out of the way.

_I DON' T HAVE MY JACKET!_

I turned around and the sword came down.

"AHHHHHH~!"

That was the loudest scream I ever let out, the most pain I've ever been in.

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

We all turned to see why Rose was screaming. That was the kind of scream you let out…

When you entire right forearm had been cut off.

"OH MY GOD"  
"AHHHHHH~!"

She sat there screaming, clutching what was left.

"Holy shit!"

"What the hell do we do?!"

I skated forward and went to grab her and the arm "Chopper will have to fix it."

_I just hope he can move._

I scooped up the girl and held and dial full of Knock-out gas up to her mouth, and went to reach for the dismembered arm, as I reached out for it some Marine kicked it off the bridge.

"YOU MONSTER!"

"**IMPACT!"  
"STRONG RIGHT!"  
"ONIGIRI!"**

We blew that guy off the bridge just like he had done to her arm.

"Just make sure she survives!" Zoro yelled.

I hopped off the faces of men until I got back to the escape ship.

"CHOPPER!"

"Oh God!"

"What happened?"

"Don't look Chimney."

"I can't move!" Chopper yelled.

"Then tell me what I have to do!" I yelled

"Cut off circulation, make a tourniquet. Rip your sleeve that will work."

_Come on don't die._

Chopper started directing me the best he could until he started crawling forward trying to help.

"Please don't die." He whimpered.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"We made it!" Franky yelled.

"We got Robin to!"

"You gotta beat that guy!"

"You deal with him and we can all go back! Together!"

We nodded to show we headed them and they went off to deal with the attack at the bridge.

"They're all alive just like you said." Lucci spoke "Congratulations, but will they have that same face for a few more minutes?"

"**Jet Bullet!" **Luffy punched Lucci in the stomach but this one was weaker than before.

"**Tempest Kick!" **

_It feels like my legs and gonna fall off._

Once again Lucci took the blow like it was nothing "You're losing your edge, you won't escape this place! Even if this island is gone I'll pursue that woman to the ends of the earth!"

"So will I! **Whip Blizzard!**" I spun in the air and swung as fast as I could

"**Finger Pistol!"**

"GAH!" Lucci's finger drove into my shoulder and then into my thigh.

"**Jet Stamp!"** Luffy kicked forward, but Lucci appeared behind him.

"**Six King Gun!"**

Lucci clenched both his hands and a pulse shot out and ran through Luffy.

"Luffy!"

Luffy silently fell to the ground I tried to move but my legs wouldn't work.

"Now to finish you two off."

"LUFFY! STEVE! What are you doing get up!"

"Usopp…" I saw him, just barely, my vision was fading.

_He took off that silly mask._

"Don't misunderstand! I came to rescue Robin not to see the two of you. Hey you, big cat from CP9. I'll be your opponent."

"No don't!" Luffy yelled.

"Stop trying to be the hero!" I added.

"I have no business with defeated men; I think I'll go kill the rest of them now." Lucci smirked.

"Come here cat man I'll blow you away!" Usopp said.

"Stop it Usopp!"

"You'll get killed!"

"Shut up, what can half dead guys like you do?!"

"We can finish him!"

"Then get up!" Usopp yelled "Stop acting like you about to die. That's not like two. Even through all the smoke, we can still see the sky and the ocean. This place isn't hell, so stop acting like you gonna die!"

"UGH!" I struggled but I managed to stand "He's right you know."

"Yeah." Luffy said getting to his feet "This ain't hell."

"Win and we can go home together!" Usopp yelled.

"You got it!"

"You two can still move?" Lucci asked.

"I never said I gave up." I told him.

Lucci returned to his larger hybrid form "I'll finish you both off. Don't worry about your friends once I finish with you I'll end all of them! **Finger Pistol Spots!**"

Lucci dashed forward and started stabbing forward towards Luffy and I, then he stopped and but his in front of him.

"We won't get hit by that." Luffy and I said jumping away.

Lucci's tail wrapped around my waist and held me in place.

_Oh Shit!_

"**Ultimate Six King Gun!"**

"AAGGGHHHH!"

"STEVE!"

It felt like my internal organs exploded. I stumbled forward and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Bleh!"

I struggled, but I stayed on my feet.

"Why won't you just die?!"

"Luffy. Everything goes into this next attack."

Luffy started punching the air as fast as he could and I started kicking as fast as I could.

"**Iron Body!" **Lucci braced himself

"**JET GATLING!"**

"**SHAVE TEMPEST: NEVER-ENDING STORM!"**

"RAAHHHH!"

The attacks slammed into Lucci and he got battered back and forth. The wall of the room caved in. Lucci collapsed to the ground defeated.

Luffy and I also collapsed and fell to the ground.

"It's over…" Luffy said trying to catch his breath.

"WE'RE GOING BACK TOGETHER! ROBINNNN~" I called out.

"Come on let's go!" Usopp called "Jump over here! You just get to this side I'll carry you the rest of the way."

"I can't move…" Luffy said.

"My body's frozen!" I yelled.

"Stop being stupid you won. We have Robin back, all you have to do is get over here and we can leave."

The cannons lowered and pointed at the room we were in.

"Crap we're gonna get killed!"

Everyone started yelling for us to stand up.

"We really shit the bed this time." I mumbled "All that work just to die now."

"_**Look down."**_

"Who the hell said that?"

"It said to look below?" Luffy told me.

"Jump!" Usopp yelled "Jump into the ocean!"

A bunch of hands sprouted up.

"Okay we're moving!"

We hit the ledge and fell towards the water.

"Merry!"

I looked down and saw our ship was there waiting for us.

"You came."

We splashed down in the water and someone threw us onto the deck.

"Hurry up we gotta go!"

I laid out on the deck trying to catch my breath.

"Thanks for moving me Rob..!" Robin slapped a hand over my mouth to stop me.

"Thank you everyone." Robin said.

"No problem." I smiled.

"We can talk after we get out of here." Zoro said "Chopper what's the situation with Rose?"

"She'll live." He sniffled "But I can't do anything more till we get back to town. There was nothing I could do about the arm though."

"What happened?" I asked as we slid along the currents.

Zoro picked me up and dragged me over to the unconscious girl. She was asleep but she looked peaceful despite not having her right arm from the elbow down.

I couldn't help but laugh "Kinda like Dad now."

I looked up and saw the warships were firing on each other. I managed to at least sit up.

"Nami get us out of here." I said.

"Don't worry there's no sea Merry can't cross."

A cannonball almost hit us but Wyper and Sanji used Luffy as a slingshot and sent the shot back.

"Franky do it!"

"**Coup De Vent!"** Franky blasted the water and the ship flew into the air.

Usopp let off a smokescreen. Those two things combined with a little luck, got us all out of there alive.

"Thanks for coming to get us Merry." Luffy thanked the ship.

"What you guy did was pretty outrageous." Franky said "Shooting that flag and all."

"All we did was go get back a friend who was taken away." I said using the railing to help me stand up.

"We didn't just get a friend" Luffy laughed "We got your girlfriend!"

"Shut it you little brat."

Luffy hopped off the figurehead and started walking around the ship and walked up to me "Do it!" He yelled pushing me.

I bumped into Robin but managed not to fall over "Nice to see you."

"Yes hello." She giggled with a small blush.

"Come on!" Luffy yelled.

Everyone else started egging us on and telling us to do it already.

"You know you want to Little Brother." Rose said from her spot on the ground "I didn't give up an arm so you two could stand there awkwardly."

I couldn't help but laugh "Should we just give them what they want?" I asked Robin.

"They'll never leave us alone if we don't" She said getting closer to my face.

"Stop taking so long!" Luffy yelled pushing me again.

My head moved forward and my lips connected to Robin's. We kissed for a few seconds before everyone started clapping and making it super uncomfortable.

"That was nice." She said staring at me.

"I will do what I promised." I told her "Our first date will be in Water Seven."

"I look forward to it." She smiled.

"Hey a ships coming!" Luffy yelled.

"Did they find us already?" Rose asked sitting up.

"Will you stop moving around?!" Chopper yelled "You still not in the clear yet."

"I'll take a page from Zoro's book." She told the deer "I'll say yes and then not do it anyway."

"I wish you'd take a page from his book and just sleep." Chopper grumbled.

"I heard that!"

"It's the Galley-La ship." Wyper announced.

"Ice pops!"

They shipwrights and Iceberg seemed happy to see we were still alive. A sharp creaking noise started coming from the middle of the ship. I pulled Robin back just and the front and back halves split and Merry broke in two.

_Crap, it was inevitable but still._

"As expected…" Sanji grumbled.

"But!"

"We knew this Luffy." I said trying to calm him "They told us Merry couldn't go on like this for much longer."

"Please, Ice pops you have to fix Merry she's our friend, she's been with us forever. Just now she saved us."

"Then why won't you let her sleep?" Iceberg asked "What I'm witnessing right now is a miracle. This ship has long since passed its limits. I've been a shipwright for many years but I've never seen such an amazing ship before. It has lived an amazing life."

"It's time Luffy." I told him.

"I understand…"

* * *

We borrowed some lifeboats for Icebergs ship and got ready to say our goodbyes. Luffy and I would be the ones sending Merry off, the others would watch from a distance.

"That bottom of the sea is a dark place." Luffy said moving the torch closer and starting the fire "So we're gonna see you off here Merry. It's for the best Usopp isn't here, I don't know if he could take it."

The fire grew larger and larger and began to engulf our ship.

"Thank you Merry, for carrying us all this way." I spoke as it started to snow.

I sat there staring into the fire, remembering all the good times we had had on that ship, all the times we spent with our friend. Reverse Mountain, the Sky Island. Without Merry I don't know how we would have gotten through those events.

"_**I'm Sorry."**_

"What?!"

"_**I wanted to carry you all just a little bit further. I wanted to go on more adventures with you."**_

"We're the ones who're sorry!" Luffy yelled "I can't steer I ran you into Icebergs."

"And I ripped the sails!" I added "And Zoro and Sanji are always breaking things."

I felt tears leaking out of my eyes

_I don't want to say goodbye._

"Usopp tried to fix you but he's no good at it." Luffy said "We're Sorry!"

"_**But I was happy. Thank you for taking good care of me. I really was happy…"**_

"MERRY~!"

After that she didn't say anything else. We watched her sink to the bottom. We got onboard Iceberg's ship and sailed back to Water Seven.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**BTW: The story is rated M now, no real reason right now but maybe in the future.**


	70. Chapter 70: Family Relations

_Italics indicate thinking._

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

It's been two days since we got back from Enies Lobby. Iceberg let us stay in his mansion while we recovered. Today was the first day I was able to get out of bed, and I only got as far as the nearby table before I wanted to sit again. Rose has been doing okay. She's still pretty broken up about her arm. Chopper said that he'd get to work on a prosthetic as soon as he could and Rose told him not to rush. I think Zoro's more upset about it then she is. Wyper said that it happened because she tried to protect him. I think he's blaming himself.

"You should really stay in bed." Sanji said "you know how Chopper gets."

"I'm sick of sitting in bed I need to stretch my legs. Where's Robin."

"She went with Chopper to help look at the Franky Family's wounds." He said "Why do you miss her."

"I guess. I think part of me still worries she won't come back if I let her out of my sight."

"Listen." Sanji took a seat across from me at the table and lowered his voice "As annoyed as I am about you dating Robin I won't get in your way. But understand this, captain or not if you hurt her I'll kill you."

"If I do hurt her I want you to kill me." I told him.

"Nice to see we're on the same page." He smiled as he threw a plate down in front of me "Now eat you'll need to build your strength back up."

I picked up a fork and went to eat when my food was sucked off my plate.

"Even when you're asleep you're a pain." I grumbled "Sanji, Luffy ate my food."

"Oh it's that sleep eating technique."

Kokoro and Chimney came by to visit us. The frog tried to come inside but that just wasn't gonna happen.

"Yokozuna just go wait outside!" she told the frog "So everyone's awake huh?

"Actually no." Wyper grumbled from across the room "Luffy's still asleep."

"But he's eating." Chimney said.

"That would be his sleep eating technique." Sanji explained "he hates to miss meals."

"How the girl with the arm doing?" Kokoro asked.

"She says she's alright." Sanji said "But I can tell she's lying."

"Where is Rose?" I asked.

"She went off to the scrap yard with Zoro." Wyper explained "The two of them need to talk about what happened, if they both keep blaming themselves neither of them will be able to move on."

"They'll be alright. I said "Zoro's a tough guy and Rose won't let something like an arm bother her."

"Well regardless your Log should be set in a few more days." Kokoro explained.

"What does it matter?" Nami moaned from her seat at the smaller table "The money for a new ship, our clothes and even the tangerine trees they all got washed away in Aqua Laguna."

"We left all our things in a back street hotel." Sanji explained.

"Oh so that what those guests are here about." Kokoro explained.

Some men came in the door carrying our stuff from the hotel.

"My trees!"

"Sorry, when we thought you killed Mr. Iceberg me confiscated all your belongings as pirate loot."

"We're back!" Chopper yelled out marching through the door with Robin not far behind "I treated the Franky Family's wounds and I didn't take my eyes off Robin for a second."

"Good job soldier." I said giving him a thumbs up.

Robin just laughed "I told you I'm not going anywhere."

"It'll be a tough habit to break but I guess I can trust you on your own." I joked.

"You're too kind." She said taking a seat next to me.

"YOW!" The door opened again and this time Franky and his female companions came in "You're not all here but whatever. I got something to tell you." Franky took a seat on the floor "There's an island with a never ending war…"

"Get to the point." Wyper told him.

"Just shut up and listen!" Franky yelled.

Franky explained that there was a tree on this island that no matter how devastating the war was it never fell.

"They call it the Jewel Tree Adam."

"A Tree?"

"Every once in a while a part of the tree appears on the black market. I've always wanted a piece of the tree but it costs 200 million Beli. Then one day a group of pirates showed up…"

"Are you telling me you spent our money on a stick?!" Sanji yelled.

"Just listen!" Franky yelled "I quit building ship a long time ago. But before I realized it I was drawing blueprints again, trying to catch up to that man…My dream is to build a 'Dream Ship' that can cross any sea and I'll use the Adam wood to build it."

_Is he gonna build a ship? Why tell us this?_

"Now I have the blueprints and the wood. Now I can build that ship, and when I do finish it will you guys sail with it, sail the ship I made."

"Wait." I said standing up "You're giving us the ship?"

"Yeah. What would make me happiest if there was someone I trust sailing it. Besides you guys already paid for it. The only ship to ever reach the end of the Grande Line was Gold Roger's 'Oro Jackson' it was also made from Adam wood. I want to make a ship that can accomplish that feat."

"Of course we'll take the ship!" I yelled.

"We can get to the next island now!"

"Today's gonna be a good day" I cheered getting out of my seat.

The back wall of the room exploded and filled the room with dust and debris. I put my body between the blast and Robin to shield her. When the smoke cleared I turned around to see what had happened.

"Who are you?" Sanji asked.

"Are you the Strawhat Pirates?" a man asked.

_That voice!_

"There's someone I want Monkey D. Luffy to meet. Wake up!"

The man jumped over all of us and punched Luffy in the skull.

"OWW!"

"How can that punch hurt you?!" Wyper asked "You're a rubber man."

"There's no way for anyone to escape the **Fist of Love. **I heard you've been doing reckless things again Luffy?"

"Ga-Grandpa!"

Yeah. Everyone else was pretty shocked to see Garp was Luffy's grandfather.

"No one fight him." I said "Garp will kill you."

"Grandpa almost killed me a bunch of times" Luffy told them.

"Don't say it like that." Garp told them "Sure I threw you off that cliff and left you in that jungle one night, but all of that was so you could become a strong man!"

"You forgot the time you tied him to a balloon and sent him into the sky." I added.

"In the end I entrusted him and Ace to a friend. But as soon as I left look what happened, you were supposed to become a Marine!"

"I always said I wanted to be a pirate!" Luffy told him.

"Nonsense! You're just under the bad influence of the Red-Haired."

"Shanks saved my life!"

"Can we not bring my Dad into your family argument?" I asked.

"You're no better, corrupting my grandson with you bad influence."

"Steve's my friend!"

Garp grabbed Luffy by the collar "Don't talk back to your grandfather."

"He's not even trying to fight back." Nami said.

"No they just fell asleep." I said poking Luffy and getting no response "See."

"What'd we do?!" Franky yelled.

"Oh I fell asleep." Garp said opening his eyes "Luffy! How dare you fall asleep when I'm talking to you?"

Garp punched Luffy a few more time for random things. He even hit me a few times.

"OW!" we both said from the ground.

"Do you have any idea what kind of guy that Red-Haired is?" Garp asked.

"Wait do you know where my parents are?!" I asked "Please tell me, are they okay."

"There are a lot of notorious pirates out there. He's in the same league and Whitebeard, one of the pirates who rules over the second half of the Grande Line, one of the Four Emperors. The Marines and the Seven Warlords exists to maintain the balance between. Between us and them."

"I don't really get any of that but I'm glad they're doing well." Luffy said.

"I miss them…"I said getting somewhat downcast.

Luffy put a hand on my shoulder and gave me a big smile "There fine what are you worrying about?"

_There's that smile…_

"You're right." I laughed.

"Those two have connections to Red-haired Shanks?" Robin asked.

"That's my Dad." I told her "And 'Mother Nature' Lilly is my Mom. 'Hawkeye' Mihawk is also my uncle."

"I guess they must be pretty important." Wyper said "You and Rose must have some strong blood in you."

A commotion could be heard from outside.

"Oh it's the Pirate Hunter and the girl. You two, try and stop them" Garp told the Marines.

"Those two!"

"Zoro don't fight them." By the time Luffy and I got out there the two of them were engaged in combat with a man with two large knives.

Rose, despite have one hand, was holding her own.

"Stop you two!" Luffy yelled running forward only to get kicked in the face "Why you!"

"**Shave!"**

Luffy punched forward only to miss his target. I looked around and found the man as he came at us again.

"**Shattering Grip!" **I grabbed the man by his collar and threw him to the ground.

Luffy had his fist about a foot from this guy's face when Garp told them to stop. I looked around and saw Zoro had his swords at the other man's shoulder and Rose had a knife about an inch from that guy's jugular.

"Nearly getting killed by a girl with one arm is kinda pathetic." Rose told the man as she put the knife away.

"It's amazing." The man Luffy and I had pinned to the ground said "you're still so strong. I give." Luffy and I got off this kid and he stood up and dusted off his clothes "It's good to see you again Luffy, Steve, Zoro."

"Who are you?" Luffy asked.

"It's me Coby."

"Coby?" Luffy said "I don't think so, my friend Coby is a short pudgy kid."

"Yeah that's me. The cry baby."

"Really?!" I said surprised "You certainly got taller."

"How'd you end up on the Grand Line?" Zoro asked him.

"I'm not a Marine officer yet but when I heard you guys were nearby I just had to come see you. A lot of stuff happened but we ended up being trained by Vice-Admiral Garp."

"Come on let's go inside and catch up." Luffy said.

"Hey what about me!" they guy Rose almost killed yelled

"And you are?" Zoro asked.

"Don't act like you don't remember me! It's me Captain Morgan's son, Helmeppo."

"Who?" Zoro asked.

"That's the guy that tried to have you killed before we met." I reminded him "I guess it's nice to see you."

Garp tried to get the Marines to fix the wall he had busted down but they insisted he help them.

By the way Luffy." Garp said hammering in a nail "I heard you met your dad."

"I have a dad?"

"Of course you have a dad dumbass!" I yelled "But I've never met him either so…"

"He didn't introduce himself." Garp spoke "I heard you crossed paths in Loguetown."

"Luffy's dad was in town?" Rose asked.

"What's he like?" Luffy asked Garp.

"I wonder what your Dad's like?" I asked.

"Your father's name is Monkey D. Dragon, the revolutionary."

"WHAT!"

Everyone was pretty surprised to hear who Luffy's dad was.

"Why's everyone freaking out?" Luffy asked me.

"You've never heard of that name!" I yelled "Your father is a very dangerous man!" I grabbed Luffy's head and turned it "Robin give me a hand here."

Robin explained to Luffy that the revolutionaries were people who actively tried to attack and over throw the government.

"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything." Garp said.

"Ya Think!" Rose yelled.

* * *

They Marines finished repairing the wall and Garp told us he'd let us go since Luffy was his grandson. Luffy went outside to talk to Coby and that other guy.

"I'll be out in a second I'm gonna run to the bathroom I told them."

I came out of the bathroom and found Rose sating out the window, playing with the loose sleeve of her new jacket.

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm alright." She said "It'll take some getting used to but I think I can manage."

"What's with your neck?" I asked.

"What!" she said trying to reach for it with the now short arm?

I grabbed the other one and pulled the collar of her jacket down "What is this?"

"It's nothing."

"Rose is this a hickey?!"

"No." She said getting all awkward "You're seeing things."

"I'm not blind big sis." I told her "You and Zoro went off to Scrap Island to 'talk', what really happened."

"Nothing happened." She said with a heavy blush "It's probably just a bruise from the fight with Kaku."

"Fine just remember back on Sky Island, you're the one that broke up with him. You're a big girl and you can make your own decisions, just be careful alright. Chopper told you to take it easy, 'activity' like that is too much for you right now."

"Scram little brother." She said nudging me off.

"Just be safe if you're gonna do something like that." I told her "I'm only eighteen I don't need a niece or a nephew."

"G…Go away." She said "I'm a big girl I know how to protect myself."

* * *

When I got outside Coby was explaining that they had gotten to the Grand Line by crossing the Calm Belt in a ship coated in Seastone.

"The man behind that idea is the scientist Vegapunk." Coby explained.

"He's a smart man." I said ""I've heard the rumors that he's the one that found the way to give Devil Fruits to inanimate objects."

"That was his big project recently." Helmeppo added.

"There are so many interesting people in the world" Coby said "I used to think the world was a small place till I met you two."

We talked for a little longer before Coby and Helmeppo decided it was time to go back to Garp.

"Don't you want to stay and eat?" Luffy asked.

"We have to head back. Listen Luffy." Coby said "Do you know what they call the second half of the Grand Line? They call it the New World. They say the one who conquers that sea will be the King of the Pirates."

"Sounds like an interesting place." I said.

"Let's meet there some day." Coby remarked "And I'll capture you once I see you there! I'll get stronger; I'll become a Marine Admiral! Sorry I got a little carried away there."

"Coby!" Luffy yelled "You gotta be one. So you can fight me."

"The Strawhats will keep getting stronger." I told him "So you just try and keep up."

"What are you still a crybaby Coby?" Zoro called out from inside.

"I'm really glad I got to see you again today!" Coby yelled "We'll get stronger, so let's meet again in the New World!" after that Coby and Helmeppo ran off.

_I look forward to it._

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	71. Chapter 71: Departing Water Seven

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We decided to go a join Nami at the pool. While we were there Sanji set up a BBQ and eventually everyone who gave us a hand back at Enies Lobby showed up to join our little party. Even Usopp's two new giant friends showed up.

"Hey Nami!" I yelled over the music "Have you seen Robin?"

"She's over there." Nami said pointing to Robin leaning against a wall.

I saw Robin was leaning against the wall and mumbling to herself.

_Robin never talks to herself. Who the hell is she talking to?_

I slowly got out of my seat and started making my way toward Robin.

"Is everything alright." I asked once I close to her.

"Huh…yes its fine." She smiled "Would you like to take a walk?"

"Yeah sure." I said following her out the archway and away from the pool.

We walked around the streets for a while casually chatting.

"This is nice." I said.

"It's really something I never thought I be able to do."

"The whole towns must be at the party the streets are barren." I told her.

"Yes, Luffy's charisma really draws people in." she laughed and then she grabbed my hand with her own "You pretty charismatic too."

"Thanks." I smiled "any place you'd like to go?"

"Right here is fine." She said "As long as your there I don't care where I am "This date has been the happiest I've ever been."

"Robin this ain't a date this is just the two of us walking around town."

"No this is what I wanted." She said looking me in the eye "I just want you; I don't need all that other stuff. Besides, if we actually went on a date in public people would look at us kinda strange don't you think?"

"What because we're wanted pirates." I asked.

"No because I'm 28 and you're 18."

"So what." I said pushing her against the wall of a nearby building "Who gives a crap about them. Didn't you just say all you needed was me, then why do you care what other people think?"

She just smiled "You right, it's just odd. How we met and all, first as enemies then you saved my life, twice, the two of us certainly have a special relationship."

"All that stuff just makes for a better story." I told her leaning in close.

"I suppose it does." She said placing her lips over mine.

We stood against that building for a few minutes, just holding each other, kissing and stuff.

"Why didn't you tell me who your parents were?" Robin asked.

"It never came up. Why does it matter?"

"No reason." She answered "I doubt the world will be too happy if they discover the son of Shanks and the Devil child are in a relationship."

"You're caring what other people think again. But your right, they won't be pleased. Now that I think about it I wonder how my parents will take that revelation."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well Dad will probably throw a party and congratulate me, and then he might try and hit on you. Mom she'll probably cry about how her little boy is growing up too fast. Then she'd drag you off to make sure you're good enough for her son."

"Your have an interesting family."

"Yeah that's just what they'd probably do I'm not positive I haven't seen my parents in a years so who knows what they're like now. I'm curious how they'll react if they hear about Rose's arm."

"She certainly will have some challenges ahead of her, trying to adapt to just having just one arm will be hard."

"She can handle it." I told her.

"I guess she can, I heard she 'handled' Zoro this afternoon."

"So you heard that to." I smirked "I'm not happy about it but I'm not gonna argue about it with her again."

"We should head back to the pool." Robin said "Before the others wonder where we wandered off to."

* * *

When the paper came a few days later we finally had a report on what happened at Enies Lobby. The paper only talked about us and thankfully it ignored the Franky Family. It said we had declared war on the World Government

"You know what this means right." Zoro said "Our bounties will go up again."

"I wonder if I'll get one!" Chopper said all excited.

"Mine will probably say that a superstar has arrived." Sanji gloated.

"Yeah I doubt it." Wyper spat from across the room.

"What was that?!"

We goofed off in the room for a while when Luffy discovered Franky was going to build our new ship.

"Oh that's right you were asleep."

"In the meantime was can go shopping" Nami suggested "Where's the money?"

"Oh we spent it on the party yesterday." Luffy told her.

"You idiot! I was gonna use that money to furnish the ship!"

Nami beat Luffy up for his mismanagement of the money and then split the remaining amount between the rests of us to buy what we needed.

* * *

A few days passed when Nami told us the Log Pose was set and ready to go.

"You know where that Log's pointing don't cha?" Kokoro asked.

"That's odd it's pointing down a little." Nami said.

"That's because it's pointing to Fishman Island."

"Fishman Island is one of the most a famous spots on the Grand Line!" Sanji cheered "It's where the mermaids live!"

"How do you even get down there?" Wyper asked "Do just fall down like we did to get off my island."

"You can get to that when you get there." Kokoro explained "It's the obstacles on the way there that will cause a problem."

"Like what?"

She threw two newspapers down on the table

"It says fourteen ships have disappeared this month." Rose explained "And this other one talks about a how a large number of pirates have been caught in a place called 'The Frozen Highway'?"

"That first article refers to a place called the Florian Triangle" Kokoro explained "more than 100 ships go missing there each year. They say you can find ghost ships in that sea."

"What about that other one?" Zoro asked.

"That's not too far from here." Kokoro explained "You'll hit the Frozen Highway first; it's a den for bounty hunters, specifically the Accino Family. They are a literal family of bounty hunters. The father Don and his wife, Sena, run the show. I've heard rumors that their youngest daughter has a special power, so they keep her locked away in a tower."

"What could be so special that they had to look the girl away?" I asked "Is she dangerous. Does she have a Devil Fruit?"

"No I hear it's almost the complete opposite." Kokoro explained "It's just a ten year old girl but they say she can make animals appear out of thin air. The parents use her abilities to create these animals to catch pirates that wander onto their turf. They can't afford to lose the girl if they lose her they lose their business. So they keep her locked away as a precaution to make sure she doesn't run off."

"That's terrible." Nami said "To treat you own child like a prisoner."

"To use your kid as a staple of your business." I grumbled "It's disgusting."

"Yeah it's sad" Kokoro said "But those are just the rumors, hopefully they're not true."

The door burst open and the sister and Chimney came in.

"We have a message from Big Bro."

"The Dream ship, it finished!"

"He finished in under a week!" we said surprised.

"What are we waiting for let's go!" Sanji yelled.

"STAWHAT!"

We went to the back window to find Zambai and the rest of the Franky Family out on the lawn.

"What's up?" Luffy asked.

"I have a favor to ask…but first, the new bounty posters are in" Zambai explained "Do you want to see them."

"Hell yes!"

"You all have outrageous bounties on your heads" he explained laying the posters out.

"**Strawhat" Monkey D. Luffy-300,000,000**

"**Torturer" Steve-200,000,000**

"**Pirate Hunter" Roronoa Zoro-120,000,000**

"**Deathblossom" Rose-90,000,000**

"**Devil's Child" Nico Robin-80,000,000**

"**Black Leg" Sanji (picture unavailable)-77,000,000**

"**War Demon" Wyper-75,000,000**

"**King of the Snipers" Sogeking-30,000,000**

"**Cat Burglar" Nami- 16,000,000**

"**Cotton Candy Lover" Chopper (pet)-50**

"Ours went up!" Luffy and I cheered.

"Only fifty!"

"Who the hell is that!" Sanji yelled saddened

"You're looking good blondie!" Wyper laughed.

"I know you guys must be real happy but please look at this." Zambai pulled out on last poster."

"**Cyborg" Franky-44,000,000**

"Even Franky…"

"I know it's terrible." He explained "Bro will surely leave the island to try and protect us. So we all agreed, please take Bro out to sea with you! He's the son of pirates it's in his blood!"

"Yeah sure." Luffy and I told him "We were gonna ask him anyway."

We headed inside to back our things and get ready to set sail.

"We all understand what the deal is with Usopp right?" Zoro asked.

"Yes." We all answered.

* * *

**The Other Night.**

"Usopp's coming back?!"

"Yeah I heard him rehearsing his speech the other night." Sanji said.

"Alright let's go get him now!" Luffy cheered.

"WAIT!" Zoro yelled "I won't let you just go and get him."

"Huh?"

"You can't take such a modest approach." Zoro told them "I won't accept him back here till he apologizes."

"Zoro!" "Don't be so mean!" Chopper and Nami yelled.

"Quiet!" I told them "Zoro is right. We fought and the outcome was decided then. He lost and left. Listen Luffy you may be the captain of this crew but so am I. Normally I let you have you way and goof around but this is one time I can't let you. If you don't start to take some things seriously bad things are going to happen. I'll have to take charge and this place won't be as fun. Sure I want Usopp to come back, but not until he apologizes."

"If he tries to make and excuse we leave him behind." Zoro added

"We can talk about it after he comes back." Nami told him.

"Is leaving a crew such a simple thing? Do you want to put your trust in someone who acts like that?" he asked

"I'm sorry Nami but Zoro's right." Sanji told her.

"It's simple" I said "If the first thing out of Usopp's mouth is a heartfelt apology, then we're square. If her tries to make up some lame excuse then he's no longer welcome here." I looked Luffy in the eye "This isn't a game Luffy, am I being clear."

* * *

**Flashback over**

We arrived at the place where Franky was building our boat. There was something covered up by a huge curtain.

"We're here" Luffy yelled "Give us the ship."

"Franky's not around right now, but the ship is ready."

"Iceberg."

"This ship is amazing." Iceberg explained "It can cross any sea."

"Show us!"

"Franky left a message; he says "If you going to be the King of the Pirates you need to sail with the king of beasts!" Iceberg pulled back the curtain and reviled our new ship.

"It's huge!"

This new ship was twice the size of Merry. It had a ton of sails and an awesome figurehead. We hopped up on the ship.

"There's a lawn!" "The fridge has a lock!"

"Where's Franky, we have to thank him" Luffy said.

"It seems he doesn't want to see you anymore. You came to this island to recruit a ship right did you not?"

"Yeah we had planned to ask Franky." We told him.

"I thought so, he probably noticed that." Iceberg explained.

"Why would he not want to?"

"No it's the opposite; he wants to go with you very much. So much so that he wouldn't be able to reject the offer if you asked him to his face. That is why he's hiding. Franky really likes being with all of you, but he thinks his duty is to this island. If you really want to take him with you you'll need to use force."

"Well then we'll just have to go get him." I told Luffy.

* * *

It didn't take long for Luffy and Chopper to get back with Franky…and his pants. Zoro and Sanji were still out there but they'd be back soon.

"Hey Franky!" we yelled "Thanks for the ship!"

"Yeah have a great trip."

"If you want these back." Luffy said showing him his underwear "You'll have to join our crew."

"Don't assume you can make me you're fried by taking my pants."

Franky jumped up on a nearby pile of wood and did his signature pose "Standing like a lion naked and proud, you wouldn't make an animal wear clothes so why a man!"

"We were such fools!" I yelled "He's too strong, he a real man!"

"He just a pervert!"

"If you'd allow it I'll help out." Robin said.

"Yeah go ahead."

"**Dos Fleur: Grab!"**

"GAHH!"

"She grabbed them!"

"There gonna get crushed!"

"Don't go touching other men like that!"

"Robin I want him to join us as a man!" Luffy yelled "Don't rip them off!"

"I want to go with you but I have stuff to take care of here!" Franky yelled through a severe pain "I quit being a shipwright. The ship will be the last one I make, that was my wish to make my dream ship."

"That's a lie Franky." Iceberg told him "This hasn't become the dream ship yet."

"I changed my mind."

"No that's not true, what you're doing on this island is just atonement. You haven't forgiven yourself for what happened to Tom. But Tom already forgave you. You became a bounty hunter to protect the island; you united the punks on the backstreets and did all this to protect the city Tom loved. Even if Tom and I forgave you, why won't you just forgive your self Franky?"

The Franky Family came by and threw Franky a bag and told him it was the things he would need for his journey. Franky started rolling on the ground in pain.

"I think he's had enough." Chopper cried.

"You're gonna turn him into a girl!" Wyper yelled.

"You stopped a long time ago didn't you?" I said raising an eyebrow.

"He's just using it as an excuse to cry."

"Luffy! Steve!" Sanji and Zoro yelled running back "It's real bad! Your grandfather's coming back and he's already taken up and offensive position on the coast. Why do you still not have any pants?"

"Here Franky!" Luffy threw him his clothes "Get on my ship!"

"Already calling it your ship? You're all hopeless." Franky said "Alright. I, Franky, Will be the shipwright for your crew."

Franky hopped onboard and we got set to leave, lifted the anchor and started to sail away.

"Aren't you short a guy?" Franky asked.

"I waited in that room at Galley-La all week" Luffy said "This is his answer. I'm sure he won't quit being a pirate…he'll have fun."

The ship shook as a cannonball almost hit us.

"They found us!"

"Hey Luffy! It's your grandpa."

"What the hell you said you'd leave us alone!"

"Yeah." Garp said "Something came up so I'm gonna have to sink you now."

"Everybody get ready." I told them.

"**Meteor Fist!" **Garp threw a cannonball with his bare hands.

"He's coming closer!" Wyper yelled "What are we gonna do?"

"Protect the ship, keep them from hitting us!"

We moved to the back of the ship and started knocking the cannonballs away.

"Usopp's here!"

_About time…what's his answer?_

Usopp just yelled out a bunch of weak excuses like he always does.

_Just say it!_

"He's calling you."

"I don't hear anything."

"I'M SORRY! I take back everything I said! Please let me stay!"

_Finally._

Luffy threw his arm out to Usopp "Idiot! Hurry up!"

Luffy pulled Usopp back over to us and now we were all back together.

"Roll up the sails." Franky told us "Trust the ship."

"Alright do it!"

"Before we can leave we need to name the ship." Franky told us.

Luffy listed off a number of random animal names. Frank told us Iceberg suggested the name Thousand Sunny.

"I like it." I said.

"It's better than the other names."

"Let do it. This ship is The Thousand Sunny!"

"Fine then." Franky said grumbling "Take a good look at Water Seven, cause it'll be gone in a flash."

"Okay then." Luffy said "Grandpa and Coby and…other guy. It was nice to see you again! We'll be escaping now!"

Garp pulled out his gigantic Iron Ball and chain and threw it at us.

"Franky!"

"Here we go **Coup De Burst!**"

The back off the ship let out a gust and we flew into the sky.

"It takes three barrels of Cola." Franky explained "But with it we can fly, this ship can do anything the merry could plus some. If it breaks I'll fix it, you can count on me."

When we landed Luffy wasted no time getting stuff ready to have a party.

"To our old friends Robin and Usopp and our new friend Franky. And our new ship Thousand Sunny. Next stop Fishman Island!"

"Cheers!"

* * *

**? POV**

"Just a few more days and I can leave…I can finally go outside."

"what are you doing girl!"

"Mama!"

*Slap*

"Don't even think about running away Lil. You will stay in this tower and command the penguins to help us catch the pirates, understand."

"Yes…Mama."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**An adapted version of the post Water Seven Filler arc comes next.**


	72. Chapter 72: The Girl on the Ice

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"Why'd you call me down here Franky?" I asked.

Franky pulled out a tape measure and started writing down a bunch of numbers.

"Franky's got a genius idea." Wyper said placing a screwdriver on the workbench.

"How would you like a new arm?" Franky asked.

"What?"

"I built myself a new body, I can build one arm it'll take a little time but I will make you a working arm."

"Yes please!" I said "Can you really do it."

"It'll take a few days. I'll let you know when we're ready to install it." Wyper told me.

_Can I really get my arm back?_

* * *

**Steve's POV**

This ship is great. It has so much stuff. A new kitchen, a workshop, an infirmary, and it even has a fish tank.

"Luffy don't throw sharks into the fish tank!" I yelled walking onto the deck. "They eat the other fish!"

Luffy just stuck his tongue at me.

"Watch it punk!"

"It's getting cold." Robin said stepping out in a jacket.

"Yeah it is." Nami said putting her coat on "We must be getting close to that ice flow Kokoro was talking about."

"I see an iceberg." Zoro said over the speaker.

As we got closer to the iceberg it became more and more clear that we were entering 'The Frozen Highway'.

"Steer carefully Franky." Nami said "we don't want to scratch the paint."

As soon as Nami said that one of the ice chunks moved and blocked off one half of the fork in the road.

"I guess we're going right." Sanji said.

"That was weird." Wyper said "Where was the current to move a block like that?"

"Everyone be careful." Nami said "This doesn't feel right."

We slowly sailed through the flow as we got moved along path to path.

"Why don't we just blast our way through?" Rose suggested.

"We can't afford to move the ice like that." Nami explained "What if pieces landed on the ship or banged into other icebergs and moved the whole flow."

"I think I can cut through if I go slowly." Wyper said tightening the nozzle on his bazooka **"Precision Saw." **

Wyper started slicing through the ice with his laser and cutting a path for us to hopefully just sail out.

"What…"

"What is it Robin." I asked.

"There's a girl on that iceberg." She said pointing forward.

We looked forward and saw that there as a young girl on the ice. She looked like she was in a panic running from something.

"Wyper stop!"

The whole ice block shifted and split in two. The two halves separated and floated apart.

"The kid!" Rose yelled.

The little girl got knocked around as the ice shifted and fell into the water.

"Oh crap!"

"Move!" I pushed past Zoro and jumped into the water.

_Hang on kid._

I dove under and found the girl struggling to get back to the surface. I made my way over to her and grabbed her. I pulled the two of us back to the surface.

I broke the surface and took a huge breath "You alright kid?"

The girl was breathing but she was unconscious and ice cold.

"Hurry up and get me back up there!" I yelled "Tell Chopper to get ready."

Franky opened up one of the side doors and I swam back into the ship. I put the girl down and pulled myself out of the water. I sprinted to the infirmary.

"Chopper!"

"I heard put her on the bed." He said "We need to dry her off and get her warmed up. You better get out of those wet clothes to."

"I'll leave you to your work." I told him.

"What'd he say?" Usopp asked as I returned to the men's room to change.

"He's trying to warm her up the best he can. I hope she'll be okay." I said throwing a new shirt and red flannel on.

* * *

Everyone else went on with their day while I waited in the infirmary for the girl to wake up. We had decided to drop anchor while we for the girl to wake up. Chopper had been keeping me company but I told him to go eat, and that I would watch the girl. The girl was small, not even in her teens; she had wavy blue hair, and a cute face.

"You're in here all alone?" Robin said entering the room with a bowl "I brought you some soup."

"Thanks Beautiful." I said taking the bowl.

"This is just like you." Robin said "Taking interest in someone you barely know."

"I guess." I laughed "You saw that girl first, did you see the look on her face?" I asked.

"Yes she looked scared."

"Yeah just what was she so afraid of?"

I looked over at the girl's things she didn't have much, a backpack, a canteen full of water, and a purse. The backpack had clothes which Wyper had put into his and Franky's new dryer. The purse was full of strange pods. The thing was the pods in the purse were inside a water tight bag. We talked for a while when Chopper came back in.

"She's waking up." Chopper said taking the thermometer out of her mouth.

The little girl stirred awake and looked around "Where am I?"

"You're on my ship." I told her "I'm Steve, this is Robin, and that's Chopper, who are you."

"I'm Lil." She said introducing herself "How'd I get here."

"That would be our fault." Robin told her "A careless action by us caused you to fall into the water, luckily Steve got to you before it was too late."

"My purse!" She said getting nervous "What was inside?"

"Just some weird pods." Chopper explained.

"They didn't get wet, that's good." She sighed, and then she looked at Chopper "A Reindeer."

"I'm a Rein…wait you got it right!" Chopper cheered "Everyone always thinks I'm a Raccoon-Dog"

"You're obviously a reindeer." Lil said "Any decent zoologist could see that."

"A Zoologist?" Chopper said confused.

"Someone who studies animals." Robin explained.

"I wanna be one someday." Lil said "I love animals. I want to be the person who discovers all the animals in the world and writes and encyclopedia about them."

"That's quite the dream." Robin told her "I'm an archeologist."

"Wow! That's so cool! I bet you do all kinds of cool work. I bet you find cool animal bones all the time."

"I mostly stick to humans, but I have seen some ancient animals."

"Lil." I called the girl attention "When we saw you on the ice flow it looked like you were running from something."

"Oh that. It's not a big deal."

"Humor me." I said "What was so scary. What were you running from?"

"Home." She said looking away.

"You're running away from home?" Robin said confused.

"You're awfully young to be running away from home." Chopper said "You can't be more the ten years old."

"I'm ten." She told him.

"Well we should really get you home then." I told her "Your parents must be worried sick."

"NO!" she yelled "they're why I was running. Don't take me back please!"

_She's really spooked._

"I can't go back! They'll lock me away again! I can't go back!"

"Lil calm down!" I said "Everything's okay. Tell us what's wrong."

"I don't wanna go back to the tower!"

_The tower?_

Robin stepped up to the bed and hugged the girl "It's okay. No one will hurt you here."

_She's acting oddly emotional._

"Chopper look after Lil for a few minutes." Robin said "You come with me."

I followed Robin back to the kitchen where the others we finishing up dinner.

"How that girl?" Luffy asked.

"She was fine. Her names Lil." I said "And she's a girl who ran away from home."

"Well then let's just take her home." Usopp said.

"That's just it." I told him "The second I mentioned taking her home she had a panic attack."

"That's weird." Nami said.

"I think I understand." Robin said.

"What do you mean?" Franky asked her.

"Do you remember that story Kokoro told us about this place. About the Accino family."

"Yeah she said they were bounty hunters who run this place." Rose said.

"Yes." Robin said sighing "I believe Lil is their daughter."

"What makes you say that?" Sanji asked.

"Do you remember how Kokoro mentioned that they keep their youngest daughter locked away?"

"Yeah but she said it was just a rumor." Zoro said "She said it might not be true."

"I see." I said shaking my head "One of the tings Lil said was that she didn't want to go back to the tower."

"You don't mean…" Nami said getting startled.

"Lil is the slave daughter from the story. They use her to get their work done and keep her locked away so she doesn't escape."

* * *

**Arbell's POV**

I knocked on the door "Lil it's me, Arbell." There was no answer "I'm coming in."

I opened the door but the room was empty. The window was broken and Lil was gone.

"Oh no. Lil what have you done." I said running out of the room

"Something wrong Arbell?"

"Campacino!" I said grabbing his shoulders "Lil's gone."

"What."

"She ran away." I said looking him in the eye "What do we do, if Mama or Papa find out, who knows what will happen."

"Alright stay calm. You and Salchow stay here and lock the room and keep Mama and Papa distracted. I'll take Brindo and Hockera out to look for her."

"Okay." I said going the opposite direction.

_Please Lil I know you can't stand it here but if they find out I don't know what will happen. If they find you I hope they don't hurt you. If you do get away…good luck. _

I found my husband outside staring out at the ice flow.

"Salchow!"

"Yeah I know." He said "I saw her run by a while ago."

"And you didn't stop her?" I said.

"Lil needs to escape this frozen hell Arbell but this attempt was too late, your mother's already on the trail." He handed me my sword "She's got taken to that ship out there it has a flag your father's been looking for, the Strawhats. I already radioed Campacino. Our best bet is getting her back before they realize that she's gone. If they find her first…"

"Then let's go, we can meet my brothers at the ship."

_I'm coming Lil just hang on._

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"So you're telling me they keep that little girl locked in a tower just because she has some sort of special powers?" Franky said crying "That's so sad."

"What are we gonna do?" Zoro asked.

"I don't know." I said "I'd feel bad if I just left her with a family like that. What kind of family does that? Where's the love? I need to know more about Lil so we can find out what to do."

I got up from the table and headed back to the infirmary. Luffy wasn't too far behind.

"Steve."

"Yeah Luffy."

"Nothing." He said shaking his head.

I just scoffed "Yeah sure. You wanna come meet the kid?"

"Sure."

We came back into the infirmary and Lil was reading a book Chopper had lent her while he scribbled some things on a chart.

"Hi Lil." I said "This is my friend Luffy."

"Nice to meet you." He said.

"Hello." She smiled.

"What are you reading?" I asked.

"A book about veterinary practices." She said "Chopper let me borrow it."

"I have it just in case we need to treat an animal." Chopper explained.

"Lil." I said taking a seat near the bed "Why did you run away from home."

"Cause my parents are jerks."

"Yeah I got the felling their more than that." I said "I know you get locked in the tower."

"How do you know that?" she said surprised.

"A bird told us. Why do they keep you up there?" Luffy asked "What makes you so special that they can't let you get away."

Lil got nervous and started playing with her fingers "It's those pods." She explained getting out of bed and going over to her things.

She picked up the canteen and poured a glass of water. She dropped a pod into the water and it foamed up.

"Whoa!"

"Just watch." She said.

The glass foamed over and shattered, and when I looked back there was a bird on Lil's wrist.

"Where'd that come from?!" Chopper asked startled.

"That's what happens when the pods get wet, they hatch." She explained.

"How'd you do that?" I asked "Is it a Devil Fruit power?"

"This is what makes me special; this is what makes me important to them." Lil said "A few years ago I read a book about how to make these pods. My sister Arbell got the book from some pirates she caught. Mama and Papa used the animals I learned how to create to catch pirates. One day there was an accident and the book burned. Now I was the only person who knew how to create the pods, but I didn't like the way Mama and Papa treated the animals so I stopped making them. They didn't like that, and since I refused to tell them the recipes they locked my up and forced me to make them. They said if I didn't make them they'd hurt my siblings and they told my siblings if they didn't make sure I stayed up there they hurt me bad."

"So if you did it to protect your family?" I said.

"Yeah. My siblings always wanted me to get away from the Ice Castle, my big sister Arbell especially, but I was too scared they'd get hurt if I ran. But today I finally managed to get the courage to run."

"You're a brave girl Lil." Luffy said.

"I hope they're okay…" she said downcast.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Wyper yelled over the speaker "We've got five people coming at us!"

"They're here." Lil said "My brothers and sister."

"Chopper stay in here and don't let anyone in." I told him

"Got it." He shifted into his **Heavy Point**

"I'll try not to hurt them." I told Lil "but even if they're doing it out of love, I won't let them take you back to that house."

I closed the door behind Luffy and I and looked outside. Everyone was staring down a group of people at the edge of the Sunny. There were four men and a woman. The girl had blue hair pulled up into a bun; she had a katana in a blue sheath strapped to her waist. There was a set of twins dressed alike only difference being the color of their shirts. Finally there was a blonde haired man in a bad jacket and a man with a hockey stick.

"What are you doing on my ship?" Luffy asked.

"Where is Lil?" the woman said.

_She must be the sister, Arbell._

"Away from you."

"Give us Lil and we'll leave without a problem." The guy with the hockey stick said.

"The kid ain't going anywhere." Zoro said.

"Yeah what kind of family lets their parents do that to a child?" Rose yelled "It's despicable."

"You don't know anything girl." The twin in the blue said.

"Lil will be safest in the tower." The red twin said.

"I find that hard to believe." Nami said.

"If Lil doesn't get back before her parents find out." The blond man said "Her punishment will be much worse."

"She will never go back there." I said.

"Are you sure?" We turned around to find Chopper in his jumping point holding Lil up her hair.

"Ahh!"

"Chopper what are you doing?" Sanji yelled.

"Who is Chopper?" the deer asked "You mean this runt."

The creature threw **Brain Point** Chopper to the ground near us.

"What the…Chopper?" Usopp said.

"That's enough Mama." Arbell said "You made your point, put Lil down."

The Chopper Lookalike shifted into a human woman. She had long blue hair like Arbell, only her hair wasn't tied up. She had a slender body and large breasts like Nami and Robin. She had a pair of blue jeans and a low cut sweater on.

"She's changed." Zoro said "a Devil Fruit."

"Deer-Deer Fruit: Model Reindeer." She said "I am Sena Accino. Lil's mother."

"Put the girl down." Robin said.

"No."

"**Tries Fleur!"** Robin sprouted hands at the woman's neck and grabbed her head "Put her down!"

_Why is she so emotional?_

"**Antler Spike."** Antlers erupt from the woman's and a destroyed Robins hands.

"Ahh!" Robin fell back in pain.

"Robin!" I went to her side; everyone was in a defensive posture ready to attack "No one move she might hurt Lil."

"Arbell fetch their flag." The woman commanded.

"Yes Mother." The woman climbed up and took the flag.

"We will be leaving now." She said "Hockera make sure they don't follow us."

"**Ice Barrage!" **the man dropped a bunch of pucks and fired them at us one hit Sanji's foot and froze him in a block of Ice.

"Sanji!"

"We'll be going now." The woman said "Don't follow us."

They hopped off the boat and skated away.

"Why'd you just let them attack us?!" Zoro said.

"I didn't want Lil to get hurt cause of us." I said.

Chopper got up off the ground and started treating Sanji and Robin "That woman, she was so strong how'd she get on without us knowing? All the sudden she was in my office and I was on the ground."

"There's nothing that can be done about it now." Sanji said "What's the plan?"

"They're bounty hunters." Rose said "They'll be after us; they took the flag to make sure we don't leave."

"They knew we wouldn't leave without our pride." Usopp said "But why not just finish us off here."

"They want to fight in that castle." Wyper said pointing at the structure in the distance.

"They're all set." Chopper said "Robin and Sanji are all better."

"Our plan is clear." I told them "We go get our flag and Lil back."

"What do you mean get Lil?" Nami said.

"That house is an awful place." Robin said "She cannot stay there."

"It's simple, Lil wants to run." I said "we're going there to get our flag, we can bust her our while were there. Lil need to see a real family, one that will fight for he and show her love, she needs us. She's a nice girl who loves animals. She deserves a chance to see the world outside that prison"

"She studies animals; I like her more and more all the time!" Luffy said.

"Her dream is to be a zoologist." I told him "She wants to see all the animals in the world."

"I've got it." Luffy said "If Lil wants to escape this place and see the animals of the world then we'll just take her with us. We're gonna see the whole Grand Line, she can come with us."

"WHAT?!"

"You're thinking like me Luffy." I smiled.

"Then let's go to the Ice Castle. Let's get our flag and our Zoologist!" Luffy cheered

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**And so we meet out final OC (well pseudo OC) **


	73. Chapter 73: The Ice Castle

_Italics indicate thinking._

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We were walking to the Ice Castle to get our flag back and help Lil. It was cold walking across the icebergs but we managed. I was walking close to Robin as we headed to the palace.

"Robin." I said calling her attention "Is everything okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

"No you've just seemed kinda emotional the last few hours, the way you reacted to Lil especially. You've really taken a shine to her haven't you?"

"She's a special girl." Robin said "To have such an interest in science at such a young age. She reminds me of myself."

"There more to it than that." I said "The way you hugged her back in the infirmary, and the way you attacked the mom, those aren't like you at all."

"I grew up alone." Robin started "My father died when I was young and I only meet my mother for a brief time. She's lucky enough to have parents. The way they treat her. It makes me angry." Robin said in a calm voice.

* * *

**Lil's POV**

"Get in there you brat!"

Mama had dragged me to the basement and thrown me in a cell there.

_I got out of the tower and now I'm in a cell._

"You real lucky I don't tell you father about this. If I did he'd probably roast you and then I'd be out of those precious animals. Now I'm going back upstairs, you get no dinner for the next three days." Mama kicked me before she left "I'm gonna go teach those new friends of yours a lesson."

"They didn't do anything leave them alone. Mr. Steve and his friends saved me."

"Now you think you can make requests bitch?" Mama spat "I think I'll keep this Steve, and that woman who had the nerve to attack me down here and use them as playthings. I'll make you watch as I beat them within an inch of their lives."

_Steve and Robin. I'm sorry I got you involved._

The snail in Mama's pocket rang and she answered it "What?"

"They're at the front gate." Brindo's voice said.

"Well kindly let our guests in." she told him as she hung up and turned to me "Just you wait my little pod making machine, your friends will be joining you in your hell soon. Just remember you got them involved. And remember if they hurt the siblings in the fight then it will be your fault for bringing those people here."

The door into the holding cells opened and Papa was standing there.

_What have I done?_

* * *

**Steve's POV**

We had come up to an icy gate in front of a castle made of ice. Along the way we had to knock out a few polar bears that tried to get in our way.

"So do we just knock or bust it down?" Zoro asked.

The gate creaked and opened up providing us passage.

"I guess we've been invited in." Rose observed.

"We need to be careful." Nami said.

We walked through a garden full of carved ice sculptures and frosted trees.

"This place sure is pretty." Chopper said.

"It is quite the sight." I said "but the sun reflecting off them down right blinding."

"You need sunglasses like mine." Franky said.

We opened the front door and let ourselves in. We came into a huge foyer, made of ice, full of furniture and decorations. The foyer opened up into five different exits, three hallways forward, a staircase up and a staircase down.

"Which way do we go?" Wyper asked.

"Let's just split up." Zoro suggested "We can cover the most ground that way. We can find the girl and the flag easier that way."

"I'll take Nami, Robin and Rose!" Sanji said.

"No." they all said.

"We have enough people for a group of three and four groups of two." Usopp said.

I opted to take Robin with me, and Chopper wanted to come us and make a group of three. Zoro and Rose paired off to go downstairs. Wyper said he'd take Usopp with him up the stairs. Sanji wanted to go with Nami but I asked her to keep an eye on Luffy.

"I can't leave Luffy and Franky alone together, who knows what kind of trouble they'll get into. Just keep an eye on him."

That left the unique pairing of Franky and Sanji as the last group.

"This isn't fair I wanted one of the girls!" Sanji yelled.

"We'll have tons of fun together bro." Franky told him taking the left hallway.

"Luffy do you want the middle or the right?" I asked.

"I smell treasure this way." Nami said pointing down the right path "Come on Luffy."

"I guess that means we get the middle." Chopper said.

We headed off down the path in the center of the room. We passed a lot of statues of the weird egg shaped guy. They all had plaques saying they were of the head of the house, Don Accino. There were paintings of the woman who took Lil; there was even one of Lil from when she was quite young maybe five or six. There was also a wedding photo of Arbell and her husband, Salchow.

"They certainly enjoy their lifestyle." Robin said as we came into a larger room.

"So you've made it this far." The woman said turning around in her chair "most fortunate you split up and happened to choose my path."

"Where are Lil and our flag?" I asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Sena smirked "Your flag is right there." She pointed above the mantle "and I put Lil back in her cage."

"You call yourself a mother." Robin said "You treat you own daughter like an animal."

"She likes animals. A cage is perfect for her."

Chopper shifted into his **Heavy Point** and charged forward "You're terrible!"

"Now why did you change out of your cute deer form?" she said changing into a form that resembled Chopper's **Walking Point **"Know your place in the herd runt!"

The woman charged forward and flipped Chopper over her head with her horns.

"Chopper!"

The woman transitioned back into the **Jumping Point-**like form and ran and us **"Hoof Breaker!"** the woman punched at us and Robin and I jumped apart to avoid her **"Ice Breaker!"** the woman brought her hoof down on the ice near me and it cracked.

"My husband would like to meet you." She said "I think Lil's down there? She's probably getting a lesson beaten into her." She smiled.

The ice under me shattered and I fell into a smaller hallway under the room.

"Steve!"

"I'm fine." I called out "You two can handle this right? I'm going to find Lil."

"You can count on me!" Chopper yelled.

"Leave her to us." Robin told me turning away from the hole in the floor "Good luck. Bring that sweet girl back."

As I walked down the ice hallway it started to get hotter and hotter. I had to take off my jacket because I was sweating. Soon the ice was gone and the walls were made of stone that was hot to the touch. Eventually the room emptied out into a large stone room with a couch and not much else. That fat man from the statues was lying out on the couch. Big beard, dumb cigar and all.

"Well hello." The man said "I'm Don Accino."

"I know who you are asshole." I said "Where is Lil?"

"The girl, she's right there." He pointed to the back corner.

I looked around the room and saw a steel cage, like the one Luffy had been in back when we met Buggy. Inside the cage was the girl I was searching for. She was covered in bruises and sweat.

"Lil!"

"Steve!"

"Quite brat!" the man yelled "She's in there because she disobeyed me. She did that to herself."

"You're a monster." I said "What man treats his daughter that way!"

"A child needs to be punished when they break the rules their parent sets out."

"I can't stand parents like you." I said raising my head "I'll beat the crap out of you for treating her like that."

"Are you trying to tell me how to parent my own child?" he said standing up.

_Mom, Dad I hope you're not mad about what I'm about to say._

"You're incapable of being the father Lil needs." I said "After I kick your ass I'll take her away from this place. I'll show her a real family. Since you're clearly incapable I'll be the father she needs!"

_I hope you like being Grandparents. I know it's weird for me to adopt this girl, but she needs me.  
_

* * *

**Lil's POV**

"I'll beat the crap out of you for treating her like that!"

"Are you trying to tell me how to parent my own child?" Papa said standing up.

_He got off the couch!_

"You're incapable of being the father Lil needs." Steve said "After I kick your ass I'll take her away from this place. I'll show her a real family."

_What is he saying? Is he trying to help me? I dragged them into this. Shouldn't he be upset that I caused trouble?_

"Since you're clearly incapable I'll be the father she needs!"

_He…wants…to…be my…dad._

"What are you saying?" Papa yelled.

"Lil are you hearing me!" he yelled.

"Yes."

"After I get you out of that cage you're part of my crew understand! From this day on you're my daughter!"

I started crying "Yes…Papa."

"Papa, I like it." He said with a smile.

_He and Robin seemed close, I wonder if…_

"Does that make Robin my new Mama?" I asked.

"Sure." He said "I think that make her very happy."

"So now you think you can take my business away!" the room began to get boiling hot and my old dad active his Devil Fruit powers.

_He called me business; he didn't even call me his daughter. He didn't fight for me as family. I'm his flesh and blood and he threw me away._

"Be careful Papa!" I yelled "He has the powers of the Hot-Hot fruit!"

"I guess you could say things are about to heat up!" he joked.

"Ugh that was lame." I said.

_If I can get out of this cage I can get to my purse on the desk over there. I won't be a burden I can help him._

* * *

**Luffy's POV**

"This place is no fun Nami." I mumbled "It's just a bunch of icy halls and rooms."

"These guys are bounty hunters Luffy." Nami said "They must have a ton of treasure lying around."

We opened the last door in the hall and entered a room full of treasure.

"Yahoo!" Nami yelled running up to the pile of gold.

"**Lovely Crush Attack!"**

I grabbed Nami and pulled her back as two guys slammed into each other at the location she was just in.

"That was close. Thanks Luffy."

The two glowed blue and pushed apart from each other. Nami and I avoided this attack as well.

"We can keep this magnetic dance up all day." The twins said.

"Do you to have Devil Fruit powers?" I asked "Is that how you do that magnet trick?"

"No it's cause we're twins."

"Oh okay." I said.

"That makes no sense!" Nami yelled.

"We cannot let them have Lil, correct Campacino." The red shirt asked.

"Exactly Brindo." The blue one said.

"Then I guess I'll just have to beat you two up." I said "Because I already decided Lil was joining my crew."

"You plan to make our precious little sister into a pirate! Fat chance **Magnetic Love Bazooka!"**

One of the brothers launched the other and me and Nami.

"**Gum-Gum Pistol!"** I punched the man in the gut and knocked him off course "Your powers are so cool! This is gonna be fun Nami!"

Nami just mumbled "I should have known this would happen. Come on Luffy let's go!"

"No way!" I told her "Besides don't you want that treasure?"

"Go get'em Luffy!" she said with stars in her eyes.

* * *

**Franky's POV**

"I can't believe I got stuck with you."

"Come one we're gonna have a SUPER time."

"Nami got to go with Luffy and Robin with Steve. Even Mosshead got a girl to go with him."

"Wow you're a real downer you know that." I told him.

We opened the door into a room that looked to belong to a couple of some kind.

"Who is that vision?" Sanji spun getting close to a large painting of the woman who had taken our flag; the plaque said her name was Arbell.

"That's the woman who stole the flag." I told him.

"She's gorgeous! If we get to keep Lil do you think she'll look like that someday?!"

"That's wrong on so many levels." I said.

"Do you think this is Arbell's room?" Sanji said.

"It's our room" a man said stepping out of the walk-in closet.

"What do you mean ours?" Sanji said slowly turning his head.

"I'm Arbell's husband, Salchow."

"Husband…Married…to a freak like you! Hell no!" Sanji yelled lighting up with the power of love.

"Whoa!" I said backing up.

"Let's go!" Sanji yelled.

The men pulled an icepick and hammer out from the closet "I'll carve the two of you like one of my statues."

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

"Are you sure it's safe up here?"

"Relax Usopp. We haven't seen anyone yet."

"That's what worries me." He explained.

We walked passed a case full of trophies.

"Well someone loves sports." I said "Never seen so many trophies.

"They're all awarded to someone named, Hockera." Usopp said "He must be good."

"That's probably the guy that froze the cook's foot." I said "remember he had that hockey stick."

"Yeah that makes sense." He said

A something nailed me in the back and froze my wings.

"Dammit that hurt! They're sensitive!" I yelled

"Wyper!"

"I'm fine Usopp. But we have company." I said turning around.

The guy we had been talking about was at the other end of the hallway.

"You're gonna regret that!" I yelled pulling my bazooka into my hand **"White Hot Cone!"**

"Wah!" the man jumped out a window to avoid the blast.

"He jumped out." Usopp said "Well that's good. Now we don't have to fight him."

I looked out the window and the guy was looking all smug skating around in the ice garden.

"Let's go Usopp!" I grabbed the man's arm and jumped out the window.

"What are you doing?"

"No one hurts my wings and gets away with it!"

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"It's cold down here." I said.

"I guess." Zoro mumbled.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Your brother and Luffy really want to let a little girl onto a pirate crew?" he said.

"Well when Steve and I were young and we traveled with our parents for a while." I explained "You're not changing their minds so don't bother. Is it me or is it getting colder the farther down we go?"

"Yeah it's practically sub-zero." He said.

The hall way opened up into a large area with an ice rink in the center. The woman who had taken our flag was skating around in the rink.

"She's talented." I said "She's so graceful on the ice."

The woman spun in place and got colder and closer to the ice and she crouched while spinning. She jumped up, landed and kept skating. She went over to a bench on the side of the rink and picked up a sword.

"Are you just going to watch or are you going to join me?" she asked.

"A swordsman." Zoro said.

"Skating is my preferred hobby." She explained "Sword play is a side endeavor."

"You don't fight women." I whispered "Leave this girl to me."

"You can't fight her with one arm." He said.

"Yes I can. Look what I did to the Helmeppo guy, I almost killed him."

"Who?"

A drop of water splashed onto my head. I looked up and the celling was dripping.

_Condensation?_

"I've got it." I told him.

I clicked my boots and knives came out. I bent them so they ran across the bottom of the shoe.

"Now I have skates. I can fight with them." I said.

I walked onto the rink and got my footing. Zoro just sat on the bench nearby.

_I'll show you I've still got it._

"I know you plan to take Lil with you." Arbell said "But I can't let my little sister walk away with strangers."

"What are you gonna do about it." Zoro said stepping onto the ice and falling like a dumbass.

"I'll make sure you don't leave my rink alive!"

She unsheathed her sword and went to cut the fumbling Zoro. I skated past and grabbed Zoro.

"Don't get on the ice if you can't skate!" I yelled at him.

"**Ice Cutter!" **Arbell slashed the ice and sent a wave of white dust at us.

I threw Zoro to the ice and turned in time to block a slash from Arbell. Arbell raised a foot to try and kick me with her skate, but the blade was blocked by one of Zoro's swords.

"I fight women." He said "I just don't cut them. Remember I fought that Copycat before."

"You talking about Tashigi?" I said pushing Arbell back.

Zoro struggled to get to his feet "Yeas sure, whatever."

The celling cracked and shattered.

"Look what you did dumbass!" Franky yelled as he and Sanji fell into the rink.

"I forgot the floors were ice!" Sanji yelled.

"You stupid cook!" Zoro yelled.

"Arbell look out!" a man yelled as he landed in the rink and skated up to the woman and batted the falling ice away with a hammer.

"What did you do Sanji?" I asked helping him and Franky off the floor while Zoro attempted to get more than two feet without falling.

"This idiot kicked the floor and shattered the ice." Franky explained.

"Oh Rose!" Sanji cried "I'm so glad you didn't get hurt!"

Zoro face planted when he finally made his way over to us.

"You can't skate can you?" Franky said.

"Great job Mosshead."

"Can it Eyebrows!"

I looked back and Arbell and the man who fell from upstairs were making kissy faces at each other.

"Ah Salchow you're the best!"

"No fair!" Sanji yelled.

"Franky, Sanji get some skates and help me out." I told them "I can't fight two people with one arm and a pair of skates."

"I don't need skates." Franky said stepping onto the ice bare foot.

"I can't kick with skates on. I might hurt someone." Sanji said hopping over the rail "Hey jerk get your hands away from Arbell."

"Beat it creep." Arbell said.

"Rejected." We joked at Sanji.

Salchow picked up his pick and hammer and Arbell grabbed her sword.

"Lil won't leave with you." They said.

"Just try and stop us." Franky said.

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	74. Chapter 74: Lil

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Location-Treasure Room-Luffy and Nami vs Brindo and Campacino**

**Luffy POV**

"**Gum-Gum Rifle!" **I slammed my coiled fist into the one wearing blue.

The two passed over me and tried to crush me between their bodies. I ducked under the men and sprung back.

**Gum-Gum Whip!"**

I kicked the blue shirt in the stomach.

"**Swing Arm!"**

Nami smacked the red shirted guy in the face with her staff and shocked him.

The two but their hands together **"Magnetic Love Bazooka!"**

_Bazooka?_

The two got fired forward and I pushed Nami back

"**Gum-Gum Bazooka!"**

My fist collided with one of the men's faces and messed him up. The two got launched back into the wall and passed out.

"Well that was no fun." I grumbled "I thought they were stronger."

"Luffy the ceilings melting." Nami said.

I felt a drop of water hit my hat. An icicle fell from the ceiling and jabbed into the ground by the pile of treasure Nami wanted.

"Grab something and let's go Nami. The rooms melting."

Nami grabbed a golden scepter and pranced out the door. I looked back and saw those twins knocked out on the floor.

"Come on let's go." I grabbed the two and started running for the door.

"Luffy why are you bringing them?" Nami asked.

"They only fought us to protect Lil, I'm not gonna leave them there."

* * *

**Location-Basement Ice Rink- Zoro, Rose, Sanji, and Franky vs Arbell and Salchow.**

**Rose's POV**

I skated around the rink blocking swings from Arbell. Sanji and Franky were attempting to deal with the husband and Zoro was fumbling around trying to get his footing on the ice.

"**Blade Runner!" ** Arbell jumped into the air and thrust her skates at me.

I blocked the blades with my dagger and flipped her back. More of the ceiling kept falling into the rink and creating more obstacles for me to have to get around.

"**Blade High Heel!" **I kicked up at Arbell but she blocked it with her own skate.

She slashed at me with the sword and I blocked it with my dagger.

"Just give up." She said.

"You first." I told her as I jumped back "It's really hot in here."

"**Hammer Throw!"** I looked over and saw the man throw his hammer.

The mallet hit Franky and just bounced off. Sanji ran forward kicked the man in the face.

"Arbell did you see!" he yelled.

"Beat it creep."

"**Buzz Saw Slicer!" **I jumped and spun.

Arbell blocked the attack and raised her foot to cut at my stomach.

"Ahh!"

I looked down and realized I was bleeding a little.

"**Dagger Shot!" **I threw the blade at the woman and she batted it away.

"**Ice Cutter!"**She slashed the ice and sent a wave of ice dust at me.

I was blinded by the maneuver and when I opened again Arbell was in the air ready to plunge her sword through me. The blade was blocked by Franky's arm.

"Thanks Franky."

I slipped around Franky and went at Arbell, who was still stunned that her sword didn't hurt Franky.

"**Sunset Shower!" **I sliced Arbell's back and she fell to the ice.

"These guys aren't very tough." Franky said

"It's getting hotter in here." Zoro said.

"Papa's angry." Arbell said.

"What do you mean?" Franky said.

I looked around and the walls were sweating.

"He's steaming…" Arbell said as she fell asleep.

"This place is made out of ice." Sanji said "We should get outside. If this whole place collapses it would be bad. I'll protect the lady!" Sanji scooped up Arbell and ran out the door.

"Stupid cook get back here!" Zoro yelled finally getting off the ice and getting out of the rink and running after Sanji.

Franky picked up the husband and we headed back outside.

* * *

**Location-Foyer-Robin and Chopper Vs Sena**

**Robin's POV**

"**Heavy Gong!" **Chopper punched at the woman.

Sena shifted into her animal form to avoid the high punch. She jumped up and her antlers dug into Chopper.

"**Seis Fleur." **

The woman shifted form to hybrid mode causing the arms to lose their grip.

The woman jumped and spun in the air **"Hoof Corkscrew!" **

The woman landed in front of me and drilled me with a punch.

"**Cloven Cross!" **Chopper came from the side and punched the woman in the face.

The woman changed back to human form "You two are getting on my nerves."

"**Scope! **I'll find your weakness."

The woman turned into a reindeer and charged forward **"Horn Gouge!" **

"**Calendula!" **I made a shield to protect the little deer and hold the woman back.

"I see it." Chopper told me "Her back left ankle!"

I sprouted a hand and grabbed the ankle **"Twist!" **I grabbed the ankle and it made a sickening crack.

"AH! You bitch!"

The woman shifted to the hybrid from and attempted to jump back only to double over in pain. I looked around and realized that the walls were dripping.

"It's hot~" Chopper whined "Isn't this an ice castle?"

"The room is melting." I observed "What's happening?"

The woman on the floor just laughed "You're all doomed now. My husband will melt this place and sink all of you into the ocean! You can thank the little brat for dragging you down with her. If she does survive I'll make sure she suffers for causing my beautiful house to melt."

"**Strangle!" **Two hands sprouted and began wringing out the woman's neck "Say that again."

_Treating her child like that. I'll kill her._

"Robin stop!" Chopper said grabbing my ankle "It's not worth it. We'll get Lil and leave and it won't matter. She won't be able to hurt her anymore."

I let the hands go "We should get outside before this whole place collapses."

_And before I kill this woman._

"What about Steve he's still down in that hole."

"He'll be fine." I told him "he beat CP9; he can beat one bounty hunter."

Chopper grabbed our flag and we headed for the front door.

When we made it back out into the garden outside we saw the true extent of the damage. The spires of the castle were gone and most of the outer walls had holes in them. Even the statues in the garden were melting.

"**Wide Burst!"** There was an explosion deeper in the garden and Chopper and I went to investigate.

"AHH!" Long-nose jumped out in front of us "Robin, Chopper?"

"What's happening?" Chopper asked.

"Just look them!" he yelled.

We peaked around the corner to find the Shandorian shooting snowballs from his bazooka at a man with a hockey stick.

"What is he doing?"

"Sit still you little punk! This will only hurt a little!" Wyper yelled.

"That guy hit his wings and now he's all pissed off." Usopp said "He didn't have any cannonballs so he improvised with snow."

"Hey~!" we turned around to find Luffy and the others headed towards us.

"Luffy!"

Luffy dropped the two men he was carrying and ran up to us "You got the flag back! Where's Steve?"

"He went to get Lil." I explained "He's still in the castle."

"Hockera knock it off!" Arbell yelled.

"Wyper that's enough!" Rose said.

"But this guy…"

"Not a word." Arbell told them "There's no point." She looked at Luffy "Can your friend really save Lil."

He just smiled "Of course he will. Steve takes matters of family very seriously."

* * *

**Location- Stone Basement- Steve Vs Don Accino.**

I sprinted forward **"Whip Crush!" **I slammed the man in the head but he just shook it off and shot a beam of hot air at me.

"**Shave!" **I easily avoided the attack and appeared in front of the man **"Super Kick!"**

I nailed the man in the face and knocked him back a few steps. He punched the floor and the stone he hit turned bright red.

_I can't step there or I'll burn my foot off. Lil's in a steal cage, I can't let it get too hot or she'll be cooked alive._

"**Whip Jetstream!" **I coiled my whips around each other and slammed them into the man.

"**Heat Vison!" **A flaming blast came out of his eyes and burned a hole in my shirt.

"Crap!" I jumped back **"Tempest Kick!" **

"**Hot Wall!" **my projectile kick was stopped by a wall of heat.

_If Nami was here she could help me. I'm covered in sweat; I gotta beat this guy quick before I get too exhausted._

"**Shave Sweep!" **I ran forward and tripped the man and knocked him over **"Anchor Smash!"** I slammed my foot into his back and felt the heat coming off this through my shoe.

I went to lift run back and shoot off a **Tempest Kick** but when I tried to move I was stuck to the ground.

"My shoes melted!" I said trying to get off the floor "I'm stuck."

"Now I'll crush you pirate." The man let off a wave of heat and went to bring his foot down on me.

"**Flying Fish!" **A bunch of birds came out flew into the man and clawed at his body knocking him away and to the ground.

I looked over and Lil had escaped her cage and sent those things to help me. She looked exhausted; being in that steel cage with this heat had done a number on her. I slipped out of my shoes and ran across the hot rocks.

_Crap this hurts!_

"**Whip Hurricane!" **I believed a series of blows to the man on the ground.

The man slapped the floor and the room quaked **"Heat Golem!"**

The stones in the room pooped out of the floor and steam filled the room. It was practically blinding. The steam moved around the room and concentrated around Accino. Despite being across the room he punched the air and I got hit by the steam that had collected. I noticed that the way it had formed resembled his body.

"This just got a lot tougher." I groaned.

The man punched the floor under him and a steam vent under me opened and blasted me into the air.

_There must be veins running under the castle._

"**Whip Crush!"** I brought my whip down and banged the man in the head.

Another vent opened and kept me suspended in the air and wide open to the punch from the steam. It burned when it hit me. Another punch was coming in when I was pulled out of the way by Lil's fish.

They brought me back to the ground and I got ready to finish it **"Whip Twister" **I spun in place and drew the heat away from his body when the Golem was go I ran in.

"**Tempest Kick…" **I slid under the man and did a hand stand **"Tower Breakout!"**

I kicked the man and sent him into the celling.

"You did it!" Lil said running up to me and hugging my leg.

I rubbed my hand on her head like Dad used to do when I was young.

"Have some faith." I said as a pebble hit my head "We should get out of here, the roof coming down."

We ran back down the hall I had used to get down there only to find if half full of water.

"How are we gonna get out?" Lil asked.

"If it's filling up we need to hurry." I told her "come on"

We trudged through the water that was steadily rising. I started carrying the little girl because the water was too high. We made it back to the hole in the floor and I let Lil climb out first.

"Where'd everything go?" Lil said as I pulled myself out of the hole.

I climbed out and saw the castle was gone; Lil's mom was unconscious in the center of the iceberg.

"Steve!" "Lil!"

We turned around to see Luffy and the rest of the crew along with Lil's siblings coming towards us.

The sister hugged Lil "I'm so glad you're okay."

I sat on the ice and wiped the sweat off my brow "You're all free now."

"Huh?"

"Lil's coming with us but you lot can do whatever you like now." I said "Stop letting your parents control you, you're adults."

"What do you mean Lil's going with you?" The sister said.

"Arbell I'm gonna be a pirate!" she cheered "Papa said he'd take me with him."

"I thought you hated Papa?" the red twin said.

"No him." She said hugging me "Steve's my Papa now."

"So now you're adopting children?" Rose said.

"It was a spur of the moment thing." I told her.

"There really won't be any changing your mind will there." Arbell said.

"I'm gonna go see all the animals in the world." She smiled.

Lil spun around and gave everyone a big smile. Everyone started heading back to the ship and I got up and headed back with them.

"Papa?" Robin said giving me a look.

I just laughed and started heading back "She wants you to be her mom."

"Excuse me."

"I told her it was okay. Congrats I guess we have a kid now. I think that's a new record. Fastest time from first date to child, approximately one week."

Robin just sat there stunned.

"HehHehHeh!" I laughed at the look on her face.

"Come on Mama!" Lil said taking her hand "I'm hungry let's go eat."

Lil pulled Robin back to the ship. She could try and act awkward about it all she wants, but Robin couldn't hide the smile on her face when Lil called her mom.

* * *

Sanji made a big dinner for us and Lil's siblings. After the meal we got ready to leave the ice flow. Lil's family told us the way to get out and we lifted up the anchor.

"So what are you gonna do now?" Luffy asked them

"We have some old pirate ships lying around." Campacino explained "We'll probably take one and head for a nearby island."

"You have fun Lil." They said as we started to float away from the iceberg.

Lil waved them off with a smile and a few tears "Bye! I'll see you again someday!"

"You two better take care of her!" Arbell yelled to Robin and me.

I just nodded my head. Before too long we were out of the ice field, and in open waters.

"Alright everybody back to work!" Nami yelled.

"Come on Wyper we have an arm to finish building." Franky said heading below deck.

"Let's go fishing Usopp!" Luffy yelled.

Everyone broke off and went to do their own thing. Lil just stared into space.

"What's that matter?" I asked

"I'm bored." She said.

"Why don't you go look around the ship?" Robin suggested "We'll be here if you need anything."

"Okay Mama."

_There's that smile again._

* * *

**Lil's POV**

Mama and Papa told me to go look around the Sunny to get an idea about my surroundings. My first stop was the lawn where Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were fishing.

"What'ch doing?" I asked peeking over the railing.

"Fishing" Luffy said.

"A task requiring patience." Usopp said.

"They'll be a bite any second." Chopper said.

"So it's just waiting?" I asked "That's boring."

"I got one….no it got away." Usopp said.

I wandered around the lawn and saw we had a swing and tree on the lawn.

_Maybe I'll use that some time?_

I walked around the rooms with beds in them but no one was inside them. Next I went to the kitchen and Sanji and Nami were inside.

"Hi Lil."

"Hello." I said.

"Would you like something to eat Princess?" Sanji asked.

"Princess?"

"Of course!" Sanji yelled "a beautiful young girl like yourself is like a princess from a story book."

"You're being creepy Sanji." Nami told him.

"I'm not hungry I'm just taking a look around." I told them.

"Then stay away from the crow's nest." Sanji said "Mosshead is up there."

"You can go wherever you like Lil." Nami said.

I left the kitchen and carefully climbed up to the Crow's nest. When I entered the only person inside was Zoro, he was shirtless and swinging weights around.

"What'd you want kid?"

_He's scary._

"I'm just looking around."

"Well beat it." He told me "I'm training."

"Oh sorry." I said walking back out to climb down.

When I was making my way down the mast Rose was sitting there.

"Hey." She said.

_This is Papa's twin sister._

"Hi Aunt Rose."

"Don't call me aunt, you make me feel old." She said "Just Rose."

"Okay, umm Rose?" I asked nervously "Why do you only have one arm?"

"Oh this." She said touching her shoulder "…I got it protecting something important to me."

"I see. Well I'm gonna go look around under the deck." I said.

"Be careful down there that's where the workshop is." She said as I got back on the grass.

I opened the hatch and hopped down. I looked around until I found Franky and Wyper in the workshop.

"Hey short-stuff." Wyper said "You need something?"

"I'm just out for a walk." I explained "What are you building?"

"An SUPER new arm." Franky answered.

"Is that for Rose?"

"You bet." Franky said.

"Wyper?" I asked "Why do you have wings?"

"Oh these." He gestured to his back "Where I come from everyone has these. We're born with them."

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"The sky." He said.

"That's cool." I said "There must be all kinds of cool stuff up there."

I went back up to the main deck and into a side room and saw that there was a huge fish tank in the bar.

"Whoa!"

"I see you found the aquarium bar." Papa said entering the room.

"This is so cool! Look at all the fish." I said.

"There used to be more till Luffy put a shark in the tank and it ate the other fish. So how was your walk around the ship?"

"I like it." I smiled "I'm gonna have a lot of fun."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns. **

**I know that fights kind of suck. But I'm not very good at non-cannon fights. I also didn't want the bounty hunters to come across as to strong, especially when they're not stronger than CP9 or Thriller Bark's antagonist.**


	75. Chapter 75: Skeleton

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Rose's POV**

I was sitting in the girl's bed room talking to Nami when there was a knock at the door.

"Hey Wyper." Nami said.

He looked at me "It's time."

"Okay." I said standing up.

As I stood up Nami grabbed my arm "Good luck."

"I'll be fine." I told her with a smile.

I followed Wyper into Chopper's office and Franky was already in there.

"Alright so this shouldn't take too long" Franky explained "But it's gonna hurt."

"We'd knock you out." Wyper said "but we need you awake to make sure it's working properly."

"Don't worry I'll be here to make sure everything goes safely." Chopper said.

"Let's just get it done." I said taking a seat on the bed.

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"AHHHHHHH~!"

Shrill screams rang out across the boat making it hard to do much today. Chopper had come around before to let us know they'd be putting on Rose's new arm today, but he warned that no matter how loud she yelled it wasn't a good idea for anyone to come in during the procedure.

"Franky you jerk I'll kill you for what you're doing to her." At this moment Sanji is trying to get past Zoro and enter the infirmary

"Go back to your kitchen cook." Zoro told him "Chopper said no one can go in."

"Move it shit sword."

The door to the infirmary opened and Wyper and Franky came out.

"How'd it go?" Usopp asked.

"Speak up I can't hear you!" Wyper yelled.

"I SAID HOW'D IT GO!"

"Looks good so far!" Franky yelled "The screaming really hurt our ears!"

_Yeah we couldn't tell._

"She passed out after we finished but everything seemed to be in working order!" Wyper said.

"Can you two stop yelling?" Nami also yelled.

"Why are you yelling Nami?" Franky asked.

Lil just laughed "When will she wake up?"

"Chopper said he'll let us know." Wyper explained "but she was able to move the hand before she passed out, so that's good. Chopper said wait till she wakes up to go in and see her."

* * *

We went about the rest of the day and a little while after dinner Chopper came into the kitchen with the rest of us.

"Rose is still a little tired but she insisted in coming in here to eat." He explained "Please don't stare at her arm. You can look but don't touch."

The rest of us prepared ourselves for the new look Rose would be possessing. We could hear her footsteps as she approached.

"Hi everybody." Rose said entering the kitchen like nothing was wrong.

Rose stood there in her tee-shirt and jeans. She looked good as new, except for the gray metal arm extending down from her right elbow. Despite the color difference it looked like any other arm.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Like shit." She said.

Rose took a seat and Sanji set a plate in front of her. Chopper told her to try using her new arm to eat so she could get some practice with it.

"Alright." She grumbled.

"Aren't you right handed by birth?" I said "Shouldn't it come naturally?"

"Yeah I am." She answered "Just fells odd to pick things up with this arm. It has no sense of touch." She explained trying to pick up her fork with a little difficulty "So it's awkward."

"Sorry but I can't make you new nerves." Franky said "I can get it so you can move it but restoring a whole sense is above my level."

"It's no problem Franky; you gave me a new arm, I so grateful. Besides now I can fight well again." She picked up her knife and threw it into the pole on the other side of the room.

"Please don't throw the silverware." Sanji said.

* * *

We went about the rest of our day and after a while everyone went to bed. I had the first watch that night so I was sitting out on the deck looking out at the dark ocean. I heard a door open and I looked over.

"What are you doing out here?"

Robin walked up and stood next to me and stared out at the sea.

"It's clear out tonight." She said.

"It's beautiful…like you." I smiled before giggling at my lame comment "So what are you doing up?"

"I thought you might like some company." She said "Who has the next watch anyway?"

"Franky, but he doesn't take over for another two hours."

We stood and talked for a while before Robin started to doze off.

"If you're tired just go to bed." I told her.

"I'm fine." She said through half lidded eyes as she leaned her head on my shoulder "I can…stay…up…"

I gave her a kiss "Go to bed."

"I'm too tired to move." She said without opening her eyes.

I picked the woman up bridal style "There, you happy?"

"Am I interrupting something?" Franky said coming out onto the deck "I'll take over bro you go get some sleep."

Robin leaned her head into my chest as I carried her to the girl's room. I found the open bed and put Robin in it. She grabbed my hand as I turned to leave the room.

"Stay." She whispered.

"I can't." I told her "Nami would fine me through the roof and Sanji will kick my ass." I gave her a kiss goodnight "I'll see you in the morning."

I walked passed Lil's bed and kissed her forehead and headed to my own bed.

"Night Franky." I said as I passed the man and headed down the stairs to the men's room.

I hopped into my bed above Luffy's and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Hey." Zoro said over the loudspeaker "there's something floating in the water."

"What is it?" Luffy asked

"It's a barrel. Says treasure on it." He explained.

"Treasure!"

"It's probably just alcohol or something." Nami said "It says Sea God on it. It's probably a tribute."

Luffy pulled the barrel onto the ship.

"If it beer let's drink it." Zoro said coming down to the deck.

"Idiot you'll be cursed!" Usopp said.

"Who's gonna curse him, God?" Wyper asked "I recall Luffy kicking God's ass."

"Wow Luffy you beat up God?" Lil asked.

"We can always put in a new offering after we finish what's inside." Robin said.

"Well hurry up and open it." Franky said.

Luffy jiggled the lid "It's open." Luffy popped the lid and the barrel exploded.

"Whoa!" the flame went high into the air and exploded in a brilliant red light.

"What just happened?!" Chopper asked.

"Did the alcohol explode?" Rose asked

"It was a flare." I said.

"Are we cursed?" Lil asked.

"It might just be a prank." Robin said "but that may have been a signal that may have been a trap.

"I don't see anybody." Chopper said taking a look around.

"A storms coming!" Nami said "we're fleeing south. We've got five minutes."

"Let's move!"

We moved the sails just as Nami said, and sure enough in five minutes we were caught in a raging storm.

"It's no good we're caught in a headwind!" Nami yelled.

"Come on!" Franky yelled "I built this ship remember, have some faith. Take in the sails; we're breaking out the paddles."

We did as Franky said and rolled up the sails.

"We're all set! Do it!"

Franky pulled the lever by the wheel "Solider dock system: Channel Zero Paddle Ship Sunny."

The covers on the side of the ship opened up to reveal the paddles that would propel the ship forward.

"Yahoo!"

Sunny cut through the waves and we got out of the storm without a problem. After braving the storm we ended up in a foggy part of the sea.

"It's not night yet but the fog is so thick you can't see the sun." Zoro said.

"We must have hit 'that' sea." Rose said.

"Are we at Fishman Island?" Usopp asked.

"Not even close." I told him.

"You really don't know where we are Usopp?" Lil said "Arbell used to tell me stories about this place all the time."

"This is the sea of monsters." Luffy joked.

"This." Franky said "Is the legendary Florian Triangle."

"Why is everyone acting like they knew about this place?" Usopp asked.

"The old lady from Water Seven told us." Sanji explained "Then again you weren't there so you couldn't have known."

"You're all screwing with me." Usopp said "Alright I fell for it jokes over."

"More than 100 ships disappear here every year." Sanji told him holding up his lit match to give off a menacing face "And there are ships with living corpses."

"Ahh I have to get my anti-spirit gear out!"

"Usopp share with me!" Chopper begged.

"YoHoHoHo~"

"What is that?"

"YoHoHoHo~"

A huge ship emerged from the wall of fog and floated passed us.

"Ghost Ship!"

"Cover your eras or you'll be cursed!" Usopp warned.

"That music is definably coming from that ship." Rose said.

"Is there someone sail that ship?" Robin pondered.

"We can just cut him down if there's an enemy." Zoro said sternly.

As the ship passed we looked up and there was a singing skeleton onboard it.

"What?!"

"I wanna go explore." Luffy said.

"Luffy you have to take someone with you." I said "No running off alone."

Most of us were up for heading over to the ghost ship, except for Usopp, Nami, and Chopper.

"Don't leave us here alone!"

"We'll draw straws." Zoro said "Three shortest go with Luffy to the ghost ship."

We all took a stick and Nami, Sanji and Rose had to go over to the ship with Luffy.

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"Let's go back!" Nami whined.

"You're the one that wanted to draw straws." I said.

"Don't worry ladies I'll protect you!" Sanji swooned.

We climbed to the top of the ship when a skeleton peered over the edge at us.

"AHHH!"

Luffy insisted on climbing onto the deck the deck to meet this moving skeleton.

"YoHoHoHo I apologize for not giving you a proper greeting" The skeleton said.

_It talks!_

"It's been decades since I've seen another living person. All you ever see around here are ghost ships."

"It's a talking skeleton with an afro!" Luffy said stunned.

"What dazzling young maidens." The man said coming up to Nami and I "It's been ages since I've set my eyes on lovely ladies like you. That would be true if Skeletons had eyes. YoHoHoHo!"

_And he makes lame jokes._

"Perhaps you two would show me your panties?"

"Hell no!" Nami and I yelled kicking and punching him in the skull.

"I felt that all the way down to my bones. YoHoHoHo!"

"Shut up!"

"Do you poop?" Luffy asked.

"Now's not the time for that!" Sanji yelled at him.

The pile of bones got up and dusted himself off "Yes."

"Don't answer that! First off how do you walk and talk?" Sanji asked "And what's with this ship?"

Luffy pushed passed him "Before all that, will you join my crew?"

"WHAT!"

"Sure."

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"I am 'Dead Bones' Brook it's a pleasure to meet all of you."

"What the hell is this!" we all yelled.

"A skeleton!"

"Don't worry Chopper it's just a dream." Usopp told him.

"Oh that's good."

Brook walked up to Robin "May I see you panties?"

I punched the skeleton in the skull "Back off Pervert!" I turned to Luffy "What the hell did you do?!"

"He's funny I asked him to join our crew."

I looked at my sister, Nami and Sanji "You three were supposed to keep him in line! Now look what happened!"

"We're sorry."

"Let's go and have dinner." The skeleton said.

"You don't get to decide that!"

* * *

We all got into the dining room while Sanji prepared dinner.

"Since I am a gentleman I will wait for my meal." The skeleton said before immediately yelling for food.

_What manners._

It was at that point Brook realized he didn't know Luffy's name.

"You didn't even introduce yourself!" I yelled "I taught you better than that!"

"Enough yelling let's eat." Sanji said laying out the food.

Dinner was fine except for the few times Brooke tried to steal Robin's food.

"So explain." Rose said "Why are you a skeleton."

"The Revive-Revive Fruit. The truth is I died many years ago."

Brook explained that the fruit allowed the user a second life, but since it took his soul to long to find his body all that remained was his skeleton.

"Normally you hair should be gone." Zoro said "but you have and afro."

"I have strong roots."

"Yeah whatever…" Zoro just brushed the remark off.

"So you're not a ghost?" Chopper said.

"Oh no I hate ghosts."

"Have you looked in a mirror?" Nami said holding up a hand mirror.

"Ahh! Take it away!"

"Wait…" Usopp said "You don't have a reflection."

"Vampire!"

"Papa." Lil said getting behind me "He doesn't have a shadow!"

Brook just sat and sipped his tea "I'll tell you everything now…some years ago a man stole my shadow. My being a skeleton and not having a shadow are two unrelated events…To be continued."

"No now!" I yelled "nothing could possible surprise us anymore."

"But it just might. My shadow being stolen means I cannot exist in a world of light. Should my body be exposed to direct sunlight I will begin to disappear. I also do not appear in mirrors or photos. I am Brook it has been a pleasure to meet you!"

"Why are you so happy?' Wyper asked "Your life kinda sucks man."

"But I'm still alive!"

_He certainly has a positive outlook._

"Today is a wonderful day! I was able to meet other people!" he turned around and walked over to the wall "It was so lonely on that ship. Never knowing how many days past, the difference between night and day, I was so lonely I wanted to die. But today I met all of you! If I had tears I would cry out in joy!"

"You invited to join the crew." Luffy told him.

"Yes thank you very much, but I'm afraid I must decline."

"What. Why?" Luffy said all upset.

"Earlier I said I cannot live under the sun. Right now I am protected by the fog of this sea. Even if I could leave with you it would only be a matter of time till I disappeared." Brook explained "My shadow is in this sea and I must get it back."

"Then tell me who stole it I'll get it back!" Luffy told him.

"You are a very nice person Luffy." Brook said "But that is something I cannot tell you. We only just met I cannot ask you to die for me."

"It can't hurt just to give us a name." Rose said.

"Is he that strong?" Franky asked.

"I will not tell." The skeleton said "I just hope I find him before my second life ends." The skeleton took out I violin "I can play many instruments, on my last crew I was the musician. Please allow me to thank you with a song."

_The one thing Luffy wants a musician._

"AHH! Gh…Ghost!"

The whole ship shook with a wicked vibration.

Brook ran to the back of the ship "The gate has already closed. To the front!"

Brook ran to the other end of the ship and we followed "Did you pick up a barrel on the way here?"

"Yeah."

"Then you were already targeted." He explained

"Targeted by what?" Nami asked.

"The moving Ghost Island, Thriller Bark."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	76. Chapter 76: Thriller Bark

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"If that's an island how come the log isn't responding?" Nami said.

"Because it's originally from the West Blue." Brook explained "Today was a great day." Brook jumped from the deck to the figure head.

"He's so light."

"Please try to escape. Do not lower your anchor here." He said "I'm so glad I was able to meet another person! If it's fate we'll meet again someday!" Brook jumped off the lion head and into the water.

"You can't swim."

Brook ran past the side of the ship.

"He can walk on water." Rose yelled.

"Well let's do what he says Luffy." Nami said "This place looks dangerous."

Luffy turned around with a dumb smile on his face "Did you say something?"

"It's Ghost Island!" Usopp whined "Let's just leave."

"That vibration from before was the mouth gate closing." Robin said "We were eaten."

"So we got pulled in?" I said.

"Exactly. We're being drawn towards the island. We are locked in."

"If this island can move then we can't drop the anchor." Franky said.

Chopper and Nami both said they had "can't go to the island disease."

"Well then you guys can watch the ship." Luffy said.

"I guess we're going for a walk." I said jumping off the rail and onto the deck.

"Sanji Lunchbox!"

"No way! Think about this!" Usopp yelled "What if we get cursed."

"Doesn't matter I'm going to get Brook." Luffy said.

"Stop complaining Usopp." I said.

"I pumped." Franky said "Let's go!"

"Here's your lunch." Robin said.

"Listen you three idiots." Sanji said looking at Luffy, Franky and I "You better look after Robin."

"You're coming too?" I asked.

"I enjoy thrills." She said.

"Don't leave me here." Lil said "I wanna come too."

"Only four people fit in the small ship." Franky told her "You gonna have to sit this one out."

"We have a smaller ship?" Zoro said.

"That would be channel 2." Wyper explained "0 is the paddles, 1 is the waver, and 3 is the sub."

Franky pulled the lever "Channel 2! This is our SUPER shopping ship Mini-Merry!"

The ship opened and the three people who didn't want to go to the island we riding around in a tiny ship.

"It's incredible!"

"You really put your heart into that didn't you?' Zoro asked.

"I don't get it?" Lil said "what's so special?"

"That is just something special for us." I explained "It's hard to explain."

"Come back I want to ride!" Luffy yelled.

"Wait your turn." I said "Let them have their fun."

"For people who didn't want to get cursed they're getting awfully close to the island." Rose said.

"Now you've seen everything." Franky said "Channel 4 is empty but when the time comes we'll put something in there."

"You're the best Franky!" Luffy cheered.

"I'm having a SUPER week!"

There was a girly scream coming from the waters below.

"Fog's to thick, I can't see them." Zoro explained.

"Hey get back here it's my turn!" Luffy yelled

"At least be a little worried!"

"What if they were cursed or killed by a ghost?" Robin said.

"What an optimistic viewpoint." Lil said.

There was a thud.

"The anchor dropped!"

"No one touched it." Rose said.

"The ships brand new it shouldn't just fall like that." Wyper said "I'll go pull it up before we lose balance."

The hatch down to the workshop opened itself.

"What the hell!"

"No one was even near it."

Luffy face started getting pulled.

"Now not the time for jokes Luffy." I scolded.

"It's not me."

The mouth snapped back into place.

"Grrrr."

Luffy got pushed to the floor and then one of Zoro's swords unsheathed itself and tried to kill Luffy. Franky managed to kick it away and protect Luffy.

"The Katana just…"

"Is it the cursed one?"

"Something's here." I said "Be careful."

"Is it a ghost or a Devil Fruit user?" Franky mused.

"A moment ago I heard a growl." Robin said.

Sanji tried to jump off the ship to go help Nami and just face planted into the side.

"That was just sad!"

Sanji then started floating in the air and got throw across the ship.

"I guess it doesn't want us to get off the ship." Wyper said "It could kill us any second."

"Mama!"

I looked over and Robin was trying to push some invisible force away from her.

And then it licked her.

"What the hell you son of a bitch!" I kicked the air and sent a wave over at the monster.

It let Robin go after that and I went to check on her "are you alright?"

"It's gone now." Robin said somewhat depressed, I took it that she wasn't happy to have been violated like that.

The waves got more intense "Franky get us out of here."

"Not much I can do." He said not with no wind and waves like this. And we can't just blast off without the other three."

* * *

Eventually we floated around the island and into a huge spider web.

"We'll there ain't no getting out of this thing." Franky said "We're stuck."

"Brook's ship is here to." Rose said.

"Even the Mini-Merry is here too."

"Well no point in sitting around." I said "Come on let's go take a look around."

We all hopped off the ship except for Zoro and Wyper.

"Quit rambling and let's go!" Luffy said.

"I'll stay here and watch the ship." Wyper said "It's not smart to leave it unattended here. You guys go I'll be fine by myself."

So leaving Wyper behind to look after the Sunny the rest of us went off to explore Thriller Bark. It wasn't long before we found a weird staircase that said entrance.

"There sure are a lot of stairs." Rose said.

"There's something coming!" Luffy said.

A three headed dog walked out of the shadows.

"A Cerberus." Sanji said.

"It's cute." Robin said.

"I disagree." I told her.

"I wonder how it tastes. I'm gonna tame it." Luffy said walking up to the beast.

"Be careful dummy." I warned.

"Shake."

*Chomp*

"You dumbass! Listen for once!"

Despite being trapped in its jaws Luffy petted the creature on the head "Down…" the thing let Luffy go "Good boy…Stupid Mutt!" Luffy yelled throwing the dog into the wall.

After that the thing started listening to Luffy.

"These wounds are bad." Robin said "I'm surprised it's alive."

Two of the heads barked and the other yipped.

"Wait a sec that's not right." Lil said.

"What do you mean?" Franky said.

"Two of these heads are wolves, the other is a fox." She explained "This creature shouldn't be alive, it's not natural."

We exited the moat and entered out into a forest.

"This place is so much fun!" Luffy yelled.

"Nami where are you~!"

"AHH!"

"Lil what's wrong."

"It's a unicorn." She said pointing at the creature.

"It's having a drink with that tree."

Franky and Luffy ran off and caught the two strange monsters.

"Wanna join my crew." Luffy asked the tree.

"HELL NO!" I yelled

I dragged Luffy the rest of the way through the forest to make sure he didn't do stupid shit again.

"First the reindeer, then the robot, and finally a skeleton. No more freaks!"

"I'm a cyborg jerk." Franky said.

"We'll you invited a girl who has one arm, a guy with wings, and a little girl!" Luffy yelled back.

"To be far I had two arms when I joined."

"All the creatures we've come across. Have been covered in injuries and had numbers on them." Robin said.

"DO you think these are someone's experiments?" I asked.

"I'd say so." Lil chimed in "None of the things we've seen are supposed to exist in nature, Cerberus and the unicorn are supposed to be just myths."

"Do you hear something?" Rose said.

A little ghost flew past and kept repeating the same phrase in a singsong voice "Negative."

"It's the ghost!"

As the enigma danced two more ghosts appeared.

"I'm gonna catch it!" Luffy swung his net around to try and catch the specter but they just passed through it.

"**Fresh Fire!" **Franky spit flames at the ghosts but they were unaffected.

The ghost passed through Franky.

"I'm so pathetic…I should just die."

"It's not that big of a deal!" Sanji yelled.

"Get back here!" Luffy ran after the ghost and one passed through him "I should be reborn as a clam…"

"What are you doing?!" I snapped.

"When the ghost touches you it drains your spirit." Robin observed.

"It only affects them because their wills are weak." Zoro said as one flew through him "I didn't deserve to be born…"

"Suck it up!" Rose yelled at him.

"They have no tangible body." Robin said "And when they touch you, you become depressed. They would make difficult enemies."

Once the others had their confidence restored we headed back to trail. Our next stop was a graveyard.

"It's spooky." Lil said.

"Let's eat lunch here."

"Not a chance." Sanji told him "The atmosphere is all wrong."

As we walked among the graves a hand emerged from one of them.

"Ahh!"

Luffy walked up to the zombie digging his way out of the grave and pushed him back into the ground.

The zombie burst right back out "Like I'd just go back!"

"An old man with serious injuries." Luffy observed.

"It's a zombie stupid!" we all yelled.

A bunch more zombies came out of their graves to attack us.

"They're too lively to be scary." Lil said.

"We'll show you the danger of Zombies!"

"What was that about danger?" Luffy asked "We'll show you danger."

I cracked my whip forward with Luffy and Franky's hands.

"**Billion Beli Jackpot!"**

_We don't actually add up to a billion but I suppose some rounding is in order._

After we beat the crap out of them the zombies were more than willing to answer our questions. They told us Nami, Usopp and Chopper had passed through and gone into the nearby mansion. After planting the Zombies back in the ground we continued our journey.

"Wait a moment."

"An old man with serious injuries!"

"Again, Zombie!"

"Actually I am a man with serious injuries."

"This is too confusing." I groaned.

"There is a man I wish to see defeated." The man said "I really think you guys can do it. He has many victims and I'm sure they would all be grateful is you defeated this man. If my shadow could be returned I'd be so thankful."

"He doesn't have a shadow." Lil said "He's just like Brook."

"Who did that?" Zoro asked "Is he on the island."

"A Man called Moriah did this to me."

"Are you talking about Gekko Moriah?" Robin asked.

"Yes that's the one."

"You know him?" I asked.

"I know of him" she said "He's a pirate whose former bounty exceeded Luffy's."

"Former?" Luffy said.

"Gekko Moriah is one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for Reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**


	77. Chapter 77: General Zombies

_Italics indicate thinking._

**Bold is for attacks.**

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"One of the Warlords!"

"What's a guy like that doing in a place like this?" Franky asked.

Luffy told the man that since we were looking for the person who took Brook's shadow we'd help him out since it was the same guy.

"We better get moving and find Moriah then." Rose said.

We kept walking to the mansion that Nami and the others were at when it started raining.

"The fog is clearing."

"Is that a flag?" Luffy said looking up at the mansion.

"No it's a sail." The old man said coming back.

"You're still here!"

The man explained that Thriller Bark was actually Moriah's ship. We kept walking till we got to the gate of the mansion.

"Let's head in."

The lock on the door had already been broken by the time we arrived at the front door so we just let ourselves in and found the main room had been trashed.

"It's like a tornado came through here." I observed.

Luffy called out for Moriah but he got no response.

"So you know the name of our master."

"There's a pig growing out of the wall."

The pig talked again "Let's welcome our guests!"

Everything in the room came alive and was revealed to be a zombie.

"**Whip Crush!" **I slammed whip whips into a painting zombie that was trying to attack us.

Robin spun a zombie around and Franky banged two to the zombie's heads together.

"**Penguin!" **I looked over and saw Lil use one of those pod things and a penguin appeared, and the zombies just stared at it. They the bird opened its mouth to reveal sharp teeth that it used to bite the zombies and beat them up.

_Those things are pretty powerful._

After a few minutes we had cleared the room of zombies. Lil's penguin turned to snow and crumbled.

"What happened to it?" Rose asked.

"Well they aren't real." Lil said "They only last a few minutes before they fade away. It's always sad when that happens."

We took the pig off the wall and asked him some questions.

"Those three, they're asleep in the bedroom"

"No they ain't."

"I'm serious just go look."

"Where's the cook?" Zoro asked.

"He was here a second ago?"

I could hear the zombies snickering.

"It's Sanji so he'll be fine." Luffy said.

"Let's take the pig as a guide" Franky suggested.

The zombies tried to convince us to leave and limit our casualties.

"Quit talking." Luffy told them "If anything happens to my friends I'll come back here and end you. Sanji will be fine let's go."

We headed up the stairs and deeper into the mansion. We entered out into a hallway and slowly made our way down it.

"I haven't seen a sign of them?" I said.

"What did you do stupid pig?" Luffy said giving the monster a knuckle sandwich.

"We haven't even heard them scream." Robin pointed out "Perhaps they were strangled?"

"Can you not be so ominous Mama?" Lil said.

"You two are awfully quiet back there." I said turning to Rose and Zoro, who weren't there.

"They disappeared to." Luffy said.

"That's not good." Lil said.

"Don't worry about it" I told her "they probably went off by themselves is all. Rose probably went with Zoro to make sure he doesn't get lost."

We walked further into the hall way when there was a clinking noise from behind us.

"What are you wearing!" I yelled at Luffy.

"Suit of armor."

"Yeah I can see that!"

"Then why'd you ask?"

"He meant why you are wearing the armor stupid!" Franky yelled.

"Because when a man sees a suit of armor on the ground he has to wear it. Did you make and iron heart for your iron body?" Luffy said.

"Oh of course I was so foolish." Franky said.

"That is not true!" I added.

Franky sat down to play a song.

"We've reached the end of the hall." Robin called.

"Anyone else there?" I asked her.

"No. It looks more like an arena."

Franky suddenly jumped back as someone dropped from the celling to stab him. The man was wearing full armor but still had spears sticking out of the chest.

"It must be a zombie." I said.

"**Strong Right!"** Franky ran up and punched the zombie in the gut.

The knight slashed forward and shattered the wall.

"Not much better than a regular swordsman." Franky said flipping his hand open **"Weapons Left!"**

The zombie got blasted but got right back up and slashed through Franky.

"Franky!"

"I won't get cut by something weak like that." Franky picked up the zombie and threw him across the room.

"It's getting up again!" Lil called out.

"He's way stronger than the ones before." Franky said.

That pig started yelling from far away that we now had to face something called general zombies.

"There's no way you can win! Wall Zombie!"

The way back to the hallway got closed off by a zombie creature.

"We're trapped."

We looked forward but the way was blocked by those general zombies the pig spoke of.

"This is gonna be tough."

"If we can escape the hall we can get out into the courtyard." Robin suggested.

"All right then we'll meet up at the back of the hall." I told them "Lil stay with your mother."

"Got it!"

The five of us split up and went to break through the crowd.

"**Whip Hurricane!" ** I busted my way through a crowd of zombie.

"**Shuriken Shower!"**

I jumped back as the place I had been standing was pelted by razors. I jumped back again as a ninja flew out of the shadows and stabbed at me.

"**Chain Blade!" **The female moved her wrist and threw a blade at me.

"Who the hell are you?" I said.

"I am Maka, A Ninja of the Seven Nights Clan."

I cracked my whip and the woman dodged the attack but I managed to nick her hair.

"You bastard! How dare you defile me like that?!"

_All that over some strands hair. Kinda like Rose._

"I'd love to stay but I have to keep moving."

"Steve!" I looked up and saw Robin swinging past and holding out her hand for me.

I jumped up, grabbed her hand and we swung over the zombies in our way.

"Where's Lil?"

"Over there." She said.

I saw Lil and Franky being carried over the zombies by Lil's fish-birds. We landed by the door and kept running.

"What about Luffy?" Robin said.

"That idiot is wearing that armor, so I can't make him out."

"We can't just stand around waiting for him." Franky said "Come on Strawhat!"

"Let me out of here jerks!"

We looked over to the edge of the bridge and a coffin was being pulled away by some chains.

"That voice?"

"That dumbass!" I yelled running after the coffin "What the hell is he doing?! We have to hurry!"

"I won't let you."

A monster of a creature lowered itself onto the bridge.

"A giant spider." Robin said.

"But it has the face of a monkey." I added.

"It's a spider monkey." Lil joked.

"It's me that famous spider monkey."

"Wait that's really your name?!" Lil yelled

There was a thunk from above and the coffin disappeared behind a wall.

"Luffy!"

"I'd relax because whatever we're planning you're going to experience it soon." The monkey said "I'm in front and the general zombies are behind you, there's no escape, after you four the whole crew will have been annihilated!"

"I see, they got captured and pulled behind the wall like Luffy." I said

"And next it will be you!"

"Lil got any of those fish left?" Franky said.

"I'm out of water to activate them because I had to use more fish to carry you before."

"You're the one that spun the web that trapped the Sunny aren't you?" Franky asked.

"All of your actions so far have been revealed by Mistress Perona's ghost network."

"We're blocked on all sides." Robin said.

"Leave it to me." Franky said "Here we go!" Franky pointed his hands at the ground **"Coup de Vent!"**

Franky broke the bridge with his air cannon and we started falling towards the courtyard.

"A little warning next time! What are we supposed to do?"

"**Cien Fleur: Wings!"**

The hands coming out of Robin's back molded into two large angelic wings. Robin was holding Franky and Lil and I were hanging onto his legs.

"You can fly?!"

"Just for five seconds." Robin said straining to keep us in the air.

"That too short!"

"It's plenty." Franky said shooting his hand at the nearby ledge and allowing us to swing forward as Robin's wings fell apart.

Frank slammed into the wall and Lil and I climbed over him to get to the ledge.

"What's that noise?" Lil asked.

We looked up and something was falling from the sky.

"That's someone falling from the sky."

The person slammed into the ground and left a person shaped crater behind.

"What just fell?"

"Was that?"

"Could be?"

A web was quickly constructed in front of us.

"Somebody might have butted in but I can still catch you!" the spider laughed as he lifted his hands **"Sticky Spider Net!"**

"There are silk glands in his hands." Robin said **"Seis Fleur: Slap!"**

Robin's hands smacked the zombie's eye.

"Agh! You bitch!" the monkey covered his eyes and his hands got stuck to his face.

"I'm all set step aside." Franky said marching out.

"What the heck are those?"

"Steel Nunchuk shoved into a stone pillar." Franky swung the weapon at the monkey and slammed it into his head **"Heavy Nunchuk!"**

I jumped in to aid Franky **"Whip Jetstream!" **I slammed my coiled whips into the disoriented zombie.

Franky and I attacked the Monkey with alternating attacks. After taking a severe beating the monkey shot silk to knock the Nunchuk out of Franky's hand.

"I've got you now!"

"**Weapons Left." **Franky blasted the ape in the face.

"Hmph!"

I turned around to see Robin and Lil tied up in a spider web.

"Robin! Lil!"

There were a bunch of spider-mice crawling around them.

"I got caught off guard." "Papa!"

"There were more spiders?" Franky asked as the two us got shot in the back.

The spiders went into a speech about how they had caught our friends.

"YoHoHoHo, Yohoho." Someone was singing a song.

"What's that?"

_This song sounds familiar…_

"YoHoHoHo! So you came to the island despite my warning." Brook said walking up.

"How did you get here?" Robin asked him.

"I jumped. Since you came all this way I guess I should tell you what I know about this island."

"Hey Skeleton!" The monkey yelled.

"**Three Verse Humming." **Brook began the put his sword back into his cane **"Arrow Notch Slash!"**

The spider monkey was cut in two despite showing no injury before that.

_His skills are incredible!_

"He's a zombie!" Franky yelled "Cutting won't work!"

"Don't worry I already dealt with it."

"I've seen you before…" The monkey said.

"Zombies do have weaknesses though." Brook told the ape.

The monkey started yelling as a black shadow flew out of his mouth.

_What's happening to it?_

"What is that?"

"That would be the 'soul' of the zombie." Brook explained "Please return to your master."

"What did you do to him?" I asked.

"I purified him."

Franky breathed fire to break up the web trapping us.

"Luffy and the others were kidnapped." I said getting out of the web "You know a lot about this island Brook care to give us a hand."

"Where should I start? If they've already been caught it probably too late."

"What are you talking about?!"

"There is no need to yell, you'll hurt my ears not that I have any. YoHoHoHo!"

"I'm gonna kill you!"

"He's already dead."

Brook explained that since his rudder was broken he had only been able to drift around in the Devil Sea.

"I was lured onto Thriller Bark just like you. " Brook went on to explain that he watched a big man pull a man's shadow off the floor and cut it off.

"He cut off a shadow?" Franky asked

"I would doubt it to had I not seen it with my own eyes. But I don't have eyes. YoHoHoHo!"

"Knock it off!" Franky and I yelled.

"You can hit him now."

Brook said that when the shadow was placed into a motionless zombie the creature came to life.

"The man who took the shadows is the Warlord Gekko Moriah."

"So he can put the shadows into a corpse and make a zombie?" Lil said.

"And with Hogback as his subordinate he can make powerful zombies."

"That famous doctor is helping a pirate?" Robin said.

"The power and skills of the shadow's master become the power and skill of the zombie."

"Wait a second." I said "That's why the Ninja zombie had a flipped out when I clipped her hair. Rose would have reacted the same way; she even used moves like hers."

"Then I'd say her shadow is in that zombie." Brook said.

"Do you have some kind of plan?" I asked the collection of bones.

"Yes, please listen…" and Brook started to tell us his story, and the reason he needed his shadow back.

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

I looked out the window of the crow's nest and saw a horde of half dead people showed up at the ship. I immediately went out to the railing and pointed my bazooka at them.

"Who the hell are you?!"

They just ignored me and tried to come aboard.

"**Wide Burst!"**

The blast from the cannonball blew a bunch of them away.

"Back off assholes!"

No matter how many I blasted they just kept coming.

_Where the hell are they marching from?_

"**Negative Hollow!"**

I looked down and a ghost passed though me.

"I should just shrivel up and die."

I fell off the mast and onto the deck.

"He has wings!" A girl with pink hair came up to me "Tie him up, he's cute I want to keep him."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**I guess I have great timing being able to use Thriller Bark as a holiday chapter.**

**Till next time. Happy Halloween.**


	78. Chapter 78: Brook's Promise

_Italics indicate thinking_

**Bold is for attacks**

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

"Let me go you crazy bitch!"

"**Negative Hollow!"**

"I should dig a hole to die in."

"That's better. You're so much cuter when you're not yelling."

This woman with pink hair dragged me into some cold room and talked with a group of men about various things.

"Wyper!"

I twisted around and saw Luffy was locked in a cage.

"What are you doing?!"

"Get me out of here!" he yelled.

"We'll I have to get out of here myself first!"

"Will you to be quiet! Turn the light on!" a large man said.

This large man pulled Luffy's shadow off the floor and cut it with a pair of scissors.

_What the hell._

"Perona bring that one here."

"No he's mine. Don't take his shadow he's perfect as is. Look he has wings!"

"We can just cut them off and put them on a zombie."

"Don't touch my wings!"

"Well we can't leave him with his shadow."

A light turned on again and blinded me. The man peeled off my shadow and cut it away and I passed out.

"You can do whatever you want with him…"

* * *

**Steve's POV**

"WAAHH! That was so sad!" Franky cried and we ran through the mansion.

"Why did you ask him that question?" Robin asked me "and what's with that smile you look creepy."

"Don't worry about it."

"Hey look!" Lil yelled.

Usopp and Chopper were being attacked by zombies. We salted the Zombies and saved Chopper and Usopp.

"Were weren't fast enough." Franky said "One's missing."

"You two alright?" I asked.

We helped the two up off the floor and headed for the stairs. Robin explained how we hurt the zombies and Usopp told us what happened to Nami, Wyper, and Luffy.

"Let's go back to the ship and regroup." I instructed.

* * *

"Why are the stairs lowered?" Franky asked.

"The dock's all messed up and full of holes." Lil pointed out.

We climbed onboard and saw the ship was wrecked but no zombies were around.

"Hey they're in the dining room!" Usopp yelled.

Franky and I slapped the four around to try and wake them up.

"I'm up!" Rose yelled.

"What about those three?" Lil asked.

"There's a beautiful lady swordsman carrying meat!" Usopp yelled.

"Beauty?"

"Meat?"

"Swordsman?"

"They're hopeless!" Chopper yelled.

"Give me back my shadow!" Luffy tried running out of the room but Franky stopped him.

"Moriah isn't even here stupid."

We filled the four who were missing their shadows in on the situation.

"What do you mean she got kidnapped? Who did it where is he!"

"We have three things to get back." I told them "Nami, Wyper and the shadows."

"You forgot food." Luffy added.

"Fine food. We need to hurry and get Nami before Absalom marries her." I said

"Marry!" Sanji was pretty furious.

"Usopp and Chopper saw Sanji and Luffy's zombies and I saw Rose's." I told them "We'll need to find those three."

"I think I met Zoro's zombie." Luffy added.

"So we track them down and throw salt in their mouths." Zoro said "That will make our shadows come back. What about Wyper's shadow?"

"It's inside a zombie with big black angel wings." Chopper said.

"What about Wyper?" Rose asked "Where's his physical body."

"That woman, Perona, dragged him off."

"How did you find out about the salt trick?" Zoro asked.

"Brook told us." Franky explained.

"Yeah we met him and Papa was very rude." Lil said.

"Oh yeah, that." I said sitting up "We met with him. I've tried blowing off your idea about having him join us because I thought he was just a bag of bones. I was wrong. I've had this feeling, a nagging question my heart wanted the answer to."

* * *

**Flashback- The Spider Web**

"You know going out into the world the way you look would only scare people. You have to know that." I told Brook "most people in your situation would have given up on living a long time ago."

"Steve you're being rude." Robin said.

"Why do you want to leave this devil sea? What are you trying to accomplish? What promise did you make?"

"Have you ever heard that there are some questions that you just shouldn't ask…but I will answer you. Long ago my former pirate crew left a very important member behind. It was hard but we made a promise to return. And then we were wiped out." Brook explained "That left me to wander his sea, alone. I have a long standing obligation to return. It's been fifty years."

"That's older than me!" Franky yelled.

"That's older than my dad." I added "No one could possibly wait that long."

"I know he's most likely not waiting. But if there is even the smallest chance that he is still waiting, how lonely must he be? He must think we betrayed him. But if he still waiting think how strong his feelings must be."

"This guy could be dead for all you know." I said.

"I have to get back." Brook said "I have to get back to the coast. We swore to meet Laboon again."

_Laboon?!_

"Wait your friend's a whale?" I heard Lil ask.

_Crocus said he was dead…_

"Are you alright?" Robin asked.

_He said they went home…_

"Death isn't and apology."

_What the hell are the chances…?_

"STEVE?!"

"Huh?"

"Brook left let's go."

"Yeah let's go."

* * *

**Flashback End**

"And so Brook needs to get back." I told Luffy.

"You all look like you're going to be sick." Chopper said.

"We know him." Luffy explained "Laboon, we met him."

"What?!"

"He's waiting at the twin capes. He's waited for fifty years because they promised to come back." I explained.

Sanji explained to the others what we knew about the whale.

"Hard to believe that he was waiting for that skeleton." Zoro said "Small world."

"Well then it's settled right Luffy." I said looking up.

"Of course Brook has to come with us!"

I just laughed "Yep."

"Well then the number of Shadow we need to get back just went up didn't it?" Zoro said hopping off the ship."

"Let's go." I said jumping down after him "That old guy said if we beat Moriah all the shadows will go back; leave him to me and Luffy."

"He's right up those stairs let's get going and kick his butt!"

"I'll go with Sanji to get Nami." Rose said.

"What about your shadows?" Usopp asked.

"You guys can handle it."

"It's my fault Nami got taken." Usopp said "I'll go with you."

"Franky and I will go look for the skeleton and Wyper." Zoro said.

Usopp handed out bags of salt for everyone to use.

"Understand something." Usopp said "Right now it's midnight and the fog is protecting you four, Brook and Wyper. There's no guarantee the sun won't break through the clouds in the morning. Think of dawn as a time limit."

* * *

We wasted no time breaking through the mass of zombies blocking our path.

"What are you two idiots doing on the ground?"

"It's those ghosts again." Robin said.

Usopp killed the zombies trying to drag them away and I scooped the two up and kept moving. Something crashed into the walkway we were on and separated us from Sanji and Rose.

"What the hell happened?!" I asked.

"The stairs are gone!"

"Let's go they'll be fine."

With Chopper as our guide we kept making our way through the mansion. We came out into a large hall with two people in it.

"Hogback!"

"This guy's with Moriah right?" Luffy asked "Leave him to me."

"Wait!" Chopper said "Please let me do this. The freezer is right there you two go I can handle this."

"Alright." Luffy and I said going to the freezer.

Some lady tried to throw plates at us but Robin stopped her "Go on ahead."

"You're the best!" I yelled as we entered the freezer "You three are careful. There better not be a scratch on those two Chopper, if there is I'll have to teach you a lesson!"

Luffy and I came to the end of a long corridor and into a room with one man.

"There you are."

* * *

**Rose's POV**

"What the hell do you mean that's Luffy's zombie!" I said trying not to pass out.

The monster ripped a piece of the building off to wear as a hat and wandered off paying us no mind.

"What do we do now it tore down the way across?" Zoro said.

"Give me 30 seconds and I'll be finished." Franky said building a bridge.

"What!"

We used Franky's emergency bridge to cross the gap and enter another room.

"It's so fancy."

"HoroHoroHoro. I planned to let the zombies on the stairs deal with out but Oars got in the way."

"It's the girl who took Wyper!" Usopp said.

"Where's our friend?" I asked.

"You mean the winged man, he's my new plaything. He's waiting for his master to return."

"So you're a pervert." I said.

"I am not! **Negative Hollow!**" the woman threw a bunch of ghosts at us.

"Run!"

"I should have had both my arms cut off…"

"You guys get up and go rescue the others." Usopp instructed.

* * *

**Wyper's POV**

"I finally managed to break free of those damn ropes tying me to the bed. What a freak."

I opened the door and stepped out and was greeted by some weird half animal half human zombies.

"It's Mistress Perona's lover."

_Her what?! Maybe I should play along and move about freely._

"Yeah uhh…where is the lady?"

"She is currently engaged in combat with the long nosed man from your former crew."

_Usopp…_

"Her powers don't work on him you must aid her Sir."

"Whatever, which way."

I followed the tiger that walked on two legs and had a atlas beetle horn. He led me to a room where Usopp and the girl with the pink hair were.

"Hey Usopp!"

"Wyper!"

"What are you doing out of bed?" the woman asked.

"I'm not your eye candy." I told her "You can't tie me to a bed and leave."

"Rose was right she is a pervert."

"Grrrr! Raphael!"

The skylight shattered and a man with large pitch black wings came in and kneeled before the woman.

He only nodded his head as his mouth has been sown shut.

"Please take you former master back to his room."

"Wyper that's the guy with your shadow you have to get salt in him to get it back." Usopp said throwing me a bag.

The dark angel flew forward and tried to stab me with a lance.

"Whoa!"

_I don't have my skates or my bazooka. I only have the __**Axe and Impact dials**__ in my pockets._

"Bring it."

* * *

**AN**

**Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.**

**Till next time.**


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